Inside Their Hearts
by OneLonelyPokemon
Summary: Joy, sadness, anger, and fear. They all have one thing in common: they are feelings. Our emotions. Sometimes it is those things that control our actions instead of our mind. Can one specific Vulpix survive the emotional ride? Or will he be consumed by his emotions and never know his destiny?
1. One Peculiar Night

It was a cold, dark, night. Two trainers, aged 12 and 14 respectively, were walking down the road, their Pokémon alongside them.

The older trainer looked at the younger one. "Come on, we're almost there." The teenage boy said to him, "Just a few more blocks away." The fourteen-year old teenager had sleek black hair. His black eyes gleamed in the moonlight. He was wearing a wooly jacket, with a plain black shirt underneath. He had long black pants and brown shoes. He was wearing a brown hat as well.

"As if." The younger trainer replied. "You said that _half an hour_ ago!" The young trainer had slightly messy light brown hair, with matching eyes as well. He was wearing a handsome looking uniform. It was a long-sleeved white blouse with a black vest over it. He was also wearing striped brown pants with a tight belt, and dark grey shoes. "And these clothes are uncomfortable!"

"Dude, we were attending a _party_!" The older trainer said. "You gotta wear good clothes for that kind of event!"

"That doesn't mean that I have to wear these stupid clothes!" The other complained, tugging at his tight belt. "These things are tight! You're just trying to get the girls!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes you did!"

"Did not!"

"Did!"

"DID NOT!"

"DID!"

As the two trainers keep on bickering, the Pokémon alongside them only sighed.

Several minutes later, they had reached an apartment. It had nice cream-colored outer walls and a large oak door. The older trainer entered in without knocking and went straight for a desk. A blonde-haired woman wearing a fancy red blazer with a white undercoat was behind the desk. "Good evening, Jonathan." The woman greeted him. "You must be here for your room keys."

The older trainer, named Jonathan, nodded. The woman then opened a drawer at her desk, took a silver key with the number '302' carved onto it, and handed it to him. Jonathan thanked her, and along with the younger trainer, walked up the stairs. "Have a nice night!" The woman called after them.

After some time, the two trainers had finally reached the floor they were looking for. They headed towards a door that had a bronze label on it, reading '302'. Jonathan placed his key inside the lock. He turned it, and with a click he opened the door, sighing as he walked in. The younger trainer looked around at his room.

It was very tidy and well furnished. It was also very clean, not a speck of dust in sight! It had everything a small but simple apartment would normally have. There was a large bed, a wooden desk with some books on it, a wardrobe, a mini-fridge, a small table along with two armchairs, and an elegant-looking lamp in the corner. There was also a TV mounted on the wall. The bathroom is just as well furnished as the main room.

"Nice place." The younger trainer said, looking at a painting of the Sinnoh region champion, Cynthia, along with one of her Pokémon, a Garchomp, standing beside her.

Jonathan smiled at him. "Why thank you, Sam." The younger trainer, named Sam, smiled back. "Now, let's get some sleep, shall we?"

The two of them got into a pair of pajamas, and got onto bed. But Sam suddenly remembers something. "Hey, what about them?" He asked Jonathan, pointing at the four Pokémon in front of them. "Shouldn't we... call them back into our pokéballs?"

Jonathan looked at the Pokémon, who seem to not like the idea of being inside their pokéballs. "Nah, we'll let them out for once." He said to Sam. "None of them can fly, and they can't even open the balcony door! We keep the big ones inside their pokéballs 'cause they... well, they don't fit in this tiny room."

Sam agreed, although he noticed the cross faces of the Pokémon when Jonathan had said that they can't even open the balcony door. "Um.. yeah, sure. But you do know that Pokémon can't just be underestimated like that, right? They could jump up and reach the handle, bust through the glass, or –"

"Dude." Jonathan groaned in annoyance. "They're just Pokémon, not humans. So just relax and go to sleep, okay?" With that being said, he rolled over in his bed, and tucked in for the night. Sam just stared at him, then at the Pokémon. They seem pretty stoic, Sam thought, so I guess that's a good sign... maybe? Sam just tossed and turned in his bed uncomfortably, feeling the eyes of his and Jonathan's Pokémon watching him, and finally went to sleep.

After Sam had dozed off, the four Pokémon decided to sleep to. So they found a nice place to sleep, curled up, and went to bed...

...

But that wasn't the end!

There was a notepad and a pen on the desk. Strangely, the pen started glowing a soft blue. Then it began to levitate in the air, and started scribbling on the notepad. It read:

"Another stupid party. Just great. Not sure why Sam likes them. Probably 'cause he didn't. Well anyway, this is about to get interesting."

"My name is Keith. No surname. And what you're about to read here is a short autobiography of me; so if you don't like it, then you can just forget about it. I'll probably do this again some other time, make it a 'live autobiography', he he he. And in case you're wondering, I'm writting this right now, fully aware of my actions, and _totally_ not writting this subconsciously in my sleep using Psychic."

"I'm only writting this to get some things off my chest. I never saw my parents. Alive, that is. The first time I ever saw them was in a black market stall. Apparently, Vulpix fur is rather pricey. Of course I burned the man at the stall, although I wish that I hadn't sparked an angry mob trying to kill me. They were the guy's buddies. My parents' killer was still alive, his face slightly burnt, and led the chase after me. I managed to run all the way to the river. But then, I slipped. And being a fire-type, a cold, rapid-moving river... isn't exactly the kind of place you want to fall into."

"But I was lucky. Downstream, there was an Azumarill, sleeping underwater. Thanks to his sharp hearing, he heard my screaming – well, more like panicked gargling – underwater. He managed to rescue me and brought me to dry land. He raised me surprisingly well. I didn't expect a male Azumarill to be my guardian angel. But there he was, raising me and helped me get on with life. He helped me forget my parents' death and move on. He taught me how to battle, how to scavenge for food, how to handle rough terrain, and even helped me get used to water. Basically: I can swim."

"Some four or five years later, we came across a trainer, with some fairly strong Pokémon. He wanted to catch my Azumarill buddy, but I didn't let him. So he sent out a Buizel, in order to get the odds on his side. Being a water-type, I didn't handle that battle very well. I had – regrettably – been caught by him. My Azumarill friend tried to run, but then my trainer sent another Pokémon after him. He had sent out a Leafeon, which completely wrecked my Azumarill buddy, and caught him as well. At least we were caught together, and still together to this day."

"I'd say that wraps up my boring backstory, and much more to come at... well, I don't know. This autobiography is still in the making. Maybe my life will be just as dull as my past, or take a turn for another adventure..."

The soft, blue glow on the pen faded away, and it dropped back onto the desk...


	2. The Beginning of an Interesting Day

"Urgh..."

I started to stir from my rather... uncomfortable sleep. I stretched my back and paws, hearing them crack a bit. Note to self: wooden desks are not recommended to sleep on. If I didn't have fur, it would have been impossible to sleep on that hard surface.

There was a small mirror on the desk. I looked at my reflection. Fur's slightly messy, but nothing a little brush won't fix. Brushing my fur, I looked around at the room. It was still the same as the last time I saw it. Sam and Jonathan are still sleeping, rolling in their bed every now and then. After some time, I looked back at the mirror again. My fur's tidy, but I still don't feel any more handsome. "Relax, Keith..." I whispered to myself, "The apocalypse isn't gonna come just because you're not handsome..." Well, I don't even know exactly _when_ the apocalypse _will_ arrive, but I'm sure it won't come in a very, very, very long time.

As I was going to hop off the desk, I slipped on something; and instead I landed jaw first onto the floor. "OW!" I yelled in pain. Nursing my hurt jaw, I looked around to see if anyone heard my scream of pain. Turns out they're all still fast asleep. Good, I didn't want anyone starting off their day with someone's screaming; but technically, my day has already started that way. I looked around at what I slipped on, and I saw a pen and notepad. There was a bunch of scribbling on the notepad. I picked up to read it, and my eyes went wide.

My name was on it. And it states that it was written by _me_!? How is that even possible!? The closest thing _I_ ever did to writting was watching humans write in their books! As I continue to read it, my eyes went even wider. My past. A part of _my past_ is in here! The day I found my dead parents, the day I nearly drowned... and even the day I met Arthur as well...

"Hey, whatcha' readin'?"

I gasped in surprise when I heard Arthur calling me. Looking up, I saw him looking down at the paper. "Wow. Keith, did _you_ write this?" He asked me curiously.

"N-n-no! I-I-I didn't write this!" I answered shakily. "I-I don't even know how to write!" The fact that he was the Azumarill who saved me – which was also written down on that note – only complicates things further.

Arthur shrugged. "Yes, that's true. But it has your _name_ on it! Even your past. You never told anyone about those things! It has to be you. Besides, you've kept most of your past a secret, and even your daily activities. Like the time you went missing for an hour, and when you came back, all you said was 'It was just some stuff, no need to worry.' And after that –"

"Alright, alright, I get it!" I groaned. "But I swear to you, I swear to Mew, that I didn't. Write. That. Note."

Arthur thought about it for a moment. "Okay then, I believe you."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, man." I said gratefully to him, tearing off the note from the notepad and tossing it into the garbage bin. "Don't tell anyone about this."

He gave me a salute gesture. "Aye aye, captain!" I only sighed at his childish response.

Looking around once again, I noticed someone walking towards me. Unfortunately, it _had_ to be someone I hate. A Minccino, named Adam.

"Good morning Keith." He greeted me, smiling. Heh, he always tries to sound friendly, but the truth is we actually hate each other's guts. "Beautiful morning isn't it?" He looked at the glass balcony door, rays of sunshine coming through.

I snorted. "Yes, it was..." I said to him, frowning. "At least, until you arrived."

He looked back at me, clearly angry. "What did you just say!?"

"I said, the morning was perfectly fine until you arrived. Why don't you go clean yourself first?"

"You can't tell me what I can do!"

"Then I'll tell you what you _can't_ do." I said, sneering at him. "You _can't_ get dirty, cuz' you have a nickname: Clean Fur."

His eyes burned with immense hatred as I called him that. "I thought that I told you to never call me that!"

I rolled my eyes. "Do you think I care?"

He clenched his teeth and looked away from me, trying to control himself. "FINE!" He yelled at me. "Have it your way!" And then he scrammed off into the bathroom. Hmph. Adam. He always had a temper.

Arthur just sighed. "I still don't know what's wrong between you two." He mumbled. "Why can't both of you just get along together... What did he even do to you anyway?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. There's just a lot of things about him that just rubs me the wrong way. And it has always been like that since the day Sam caught and added him to the team. It was enemies at first sight..."

I saw Arthur's ears perk up all of a sudden. He looked around, and then smiled. Sam had finally woken up. Me and him both went up to his feet and greeted him. "Oh, hello you two." He smiled, petting us both. "I'm gonna take a shower first, then I'll make breakfast for you." We were both excited to eat soon. Sam yawned, groggily walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. From outside, we heard him say something. "Oh! Hey Minccino, whatcha' doing? Cleaning your fur, aren't you?"

I only sighed hearing him say that. But then there was another sound. I turned around and saw another Pokémon coming towards me. It was a Shinx, one of Jonathan's Pokémon. "Mornin' Keith!" The Shinx greeted. "Another day, huh?"

"Yeah, another day..." I said, looking outside the glass balcony door. "How was your sleep, Sparky?"

"Firstly, my name's not Sparky, it's just Spark." The Shinx said calmly, not a single tone of anger in his words, the opposite of Adam. "Secondly, yes; I did sleep well." Spark's bright yellow eyes scanned the room, as if he was looking for something. "Hey, have you seen Adam? He's usually waken up by now."

"Oh... _Adam_..." I groaned, annoyed that he had mentioned Adam. "He's in the bathroom, but Sam's taking a shower right now, so you'll have to wait." From inside the bathroom, rushing water can be heard, along with Sam humming.

"Ah, okay then, I'll wait." Spark said, slighly disappointed. "By the way, you two didn't argue again, did you?"

"Of course I didn't –"

"Yes, yes he did." Arthur cut me off.

"Arthur!" I yelled at him, clearly unhappy that he told Spark the truth. "What's wrong with you!?"

"Dude, both of you have been keeping this rivalry up for who knows how long! Me and Spark both agreed that we would get you two to stop hating each other by the end of the year!"

I just stared in disbelief at both of them. "...You two are stupid."

Spark shook his head. "No we're not, we're absolute _geniuses_!"

I stared at him. "Hopeless." I sighed. "You two... are hopeless..."

Arthur and Spark just rolled their eyes. Not long later, we heard a 'click' as the bathroom door unlocked and opened, revealing Sam, all dressed up, along with Adam, cleaner than before. "Alright, I'm gonna make you guys some breakfast!" All of us cheered excitedly. As he walked over to a black backpack sitting on one of the armchairs, he noticed that Jonathan was still asleep, mumbling incoherently. A sneaky grin appeared on Sam's face. "Hey, Azumarill? Do you mind spraying water at his face?"

Arthur looked at the sleeping teenage trainer, then back at his own trainer. He wasn't too sure whether to do it or not. "Hey, look. I'm just going to say to him that I told you to, how does that sound?" Arthur smiled gratefully at him, and then hopped onto the bed. "Alright then! Azumarill, use Water Gun!" A burst of water instantly came out of Arthur's mouth and shot Jonathan right in the face. Through the sound of rushing water, Jonathan's gargling can be heard. After the water stopped, Jonathan immediately sat upright in his bed, all wet and terrified. His eyes then spot Arthur, smiling nervously, and then at Sam, who was laughing like crazy.

"Geez, man!" Jonathan cried, getting out of bed. "You scared the hell outta me! I thought someone had dumped me in the rapids!"

Sam stiffled a laugh from coming out, and then shot a sly grin at him. "Now who would want to do that?"

Jonathan glared at him, but then he decided that now is not the time, and went into the bathroom. Sam only chuckled at his reaction. He then focused his full attention to us, reached into his backpack, and pulled out a packet of good ol' Poképellets. Saliva was literally dripping from our tongues. The moment he poured those sweet pellets into a bowl, everyone leaped up and chomped down on every single pellet we could take. "Oh, wow.." Sam said, amazed as he watched us eat everything up. "You guys must be really hungry." We all said "Yes!", even though we knew that he couldn't understand.

A few minutes later, Jonathan had finally finished changing, and he asked Sam whether or not he would like to go around Sinnoh for a while. "Hell yeah, I would!" Sam cheered. "I've been planning to visit Jubilife City for a while now!"

"Oh really?" Jonathan said curiously. "Why is that?"

"Well, I came from a small village, so it's really exciting to visit a fancy modern city! There were also rumors about a hidden town just north of it!"

Jonathan's face darkened. "No." He muttered under his breath.

Sam looked at him confused. "No? What do you mean by that?"

"Just... no! Whatever you do, do _not_ go to that town!"

"But why?"

"It's dangerous. I've heard all sorts of bad things about that place. Don't go _anywhere_ near it." Jonathan then left the room and slammed the door behind him. Sam just stared at where Jonathan was standing. Dangerous? How? Sinnoh has some of the most advanced technology in the world, and is also the birthplace of lots of successful companies, especially in Jubilife City. Surely they have highly advanced and effective security tools. Why would a town that's so close to Sinnoh's technology central be so dangerous, Sam could only imagine. Sam just shrugged it off, and went after Jonathan.

...

An hour later, Sam had finally caught up to Jonathan. Now both of them are enjoying a delicious lunch at a nearby café. While I was eating, I started recollecting thoughts again. I remembered the time when Spark fell into a swimming pool. Poor Spark got really frightened, he was panicking and screaming the whole time he was in there. In fact, he accidentally used Discharge; _inside_ the pool! A lot of people got shocked that day, but poor Jonathan took the blame, since it was his Pokémon. Then there was that one time when Sam was afraid to get into the subway, thinking that it lead to some vast, unknown region. And then there was that one time when –

AGH! KEITH! What the HELL are you doing!? Why do you even _think_ about those things!? Real pathetic, man...

I blinked. Huh, funny... It felt as though someone was talking inside my head. But surely that can't be possible... right?

I lifted my head up to look at the sky, hoping to see some funny-looking clouds. But instead, there was a tall, blonde female looming over me. Although sunlight from behind her made features difficult to make out, I can still see her short hair, a duffel bag, and her beautiful, jade-colored eyes. I watched as her lips move, and came out a beautiful voice. "Excuse me, mister? Is this your Vulpix?"

Sam and Jonathan noticed the girl for the first time. "Er... yes, that would be my Vulpix." Sam answered, a bit surprised to have an unexpected visitor. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, there's nothing wrong!" She giggled. "It's just... I find it very odd to see a Vulpix with blue eyes.

Ha... Here we go again. I absolutely _despise_ my blue eyes. Sure, they look good, but does that really mean that everyone who sees it just starts ooh-ing and aah-ing at me? I admit, I don't really _hate_ my blue eyes, but the fact that so many people stare at me because of it just annoys me. Arthur is a really big fan of my eyes. He just absolutely adores them; if I hadn't known any better, he might be a bit jealous. I remember at one time, he exaggerated by saying "Your eyes are as beautiful as the clear, sparkly, ocean surface." Even though the color is exactly as he says, it's a bit of an overkill.

"Oh... Yeah, well, they're really beautiful aren't they?" Sam smiled at the blonde girl. Maybe he likes her, tee hee.

"Ha! Yeah, sure..." Jonathan chuckled, "You call that a beauty, I call that a genetic mishap." I growled at him, wishing that I could just bite his leg right now.

"I consider this a beauty." The girl smiled, bending down to pet me. I swiftly dodged her lowered hand. "Hm, I guess he doesn't like petting..."

For a moment, a cloud blocked the sun's rays, allowing me to clearly see who is this girl. Her short, blonde hair reaches down to only her shoulders. There were also some freckles on her face, but that didn't reduce her beauty at all. Her skin color is rather light, and she had an outfit which is similar to what bartenders and waiters wear. She carried a large, brown duffel bag over her shoulder. She was also wearing an expensive-looking watch.

Jonathan calmly drank his coffee, while Sam continued his conversation with the girl. "Hey, you haven't really told us your name...?"

"You first,"

"Ah, the gentleman goes first I see," Sam chuckled. "I'm Sam. Samuel Black."

"I'm Catherine. I have a full name of Catherine von Platter."

Jonathan – who was still sipping his coffee – coughed, spurting his coffee all over his clothes and table. "Wh-what!?" He spluttered, wiping off the coffee on his clothes. " _von Platter_!? Does that mean your mom is –"

"Oui! My mother is Jeanette von Platter."

Jonathan just gawked at her in response, while Sam just looking between the two awkwardly.

"Uhm... who's Jeanette von Platter?" He asked timidly, afraid of getting yelled at for not knowing.

"How do you _not_ know _who_ Jeanette von Platter is!?" Jonathan screamed at him, just as Sam feared.

"I'm not from Sinnoh! You know that I'm from _Johto_!"

"I know that you're not from Sinnoh! But Madam Platter is very famous! Internationally in fact!"

At this point, people around them are probably just staring at these two buffoons shouting and yelling at each other. Arthur and me shared an uneasy look. Spark was tugging at Jonathan's pants, but he just nudged him away.

"Ahem," Catherine coughed, catching the two trainers' attention. "you two are making a scene. So sit down and behave."

"But –"

"NOW!" Jonathan and Sam quickly shut up and sat back down on their seats. "Good. My mother always taught me to behave well in public, and my-oh-my, you two are the _first_ one I've seen behave like that in front of so many people!"

"We can behave," Sam replied, feeling offended by her words.

"Oh really?" Catherine sneered at Sam. "Dear Samuel, do you even know how _hard_ it is to keep your posture under pressure?"

"Er..."

"See? You can't even cope with _this_ little chat!"

"Now hold on just a sec, Miss Extremely Well-Mannered." Jonathan stepped in front of her face. "You have no right to say anything about us like that! This is who we are, and does it matter to you?" Catherine stayed silent. "No? Then we're leaving!" Jonathan then helped Sam get off his chair, and the two started walking away, us following after him.

"Wait!"

Jonathan looked back, seeing Catherine running up to them. "Look... uhm... I'm sorry. I was being rude and I treated your friend wrongly."

"Obviously." Jonathan grumbled.

"How about I make it up to you?" Catherine offered. "You two can come to Le Palais!"

" _Le Palais_?" Jonathan repeated, surprised. "Really?"

"Of course! As an apology. Tonight, at seven, _exactly_."

"O-oh, no problem! We'll be there!"

"Excellent. You know, I think my mother would be rather... _interested_ , with the two of you." She then turned around and started to walk away, but then she stopped in her tracks. "Oh! One more thing! My mother takes etiquette very seriously, so she'll expect the both of you to try to be at your best behavior."

Jonathan stared at her. "Is that all?"

"Yup! See you tonight!" She gave Jonathan a cheeky wink, and then skipped away.

Jonathan and Sam just looked at each other awkwardly. "Jonathan?" Sam asked. "You're going to be explaining _everything_ that had just happened back at your place."

"...Sure, why not?"

The two then continued walking back to Jonathan's apartment. Me and the others walked after them. From the corner of my eye, I saw Arthur give me a cheeky grin. "A fancy dinner at Le Palais..." He mused, "This is going to be _interesting_..."

I only chuckled. "Hmph. We'll see about that."

"You don't sound so pleased."

"Yeah? Well I hate fancy."

"...Wanna play later?"

"...Sure."

" _A fancy dinner at Le Palais..."_ I thought. " _Maybe today won't just be another lame day..._ "


	3. Dinner at Le Palais

Back at the apartment, Jonathan and Sam prepared for a fancy dinner at _Le Palais_ , along with a chance to meet the restaurant owner herself; Jeanette von Platter. Jonathan opened the wardrobe to reveal an array of clothes, from t-shirts to coats, and from short trousers to long jeans, even several hats. Sam looked at all the clothes, astounded.

"Oh, wow..." Sam said, taken aback by the amount of clothing. "Why do you have so many?"

"I don't have _this_ many!" Jonathan contradicted him. "You live in my apartment too, remember?"

"Oh, right..."

Me, Arthur, Spark and – the one I hate the most – Adam, just watched as they choose their clothing for the dinner event.

"So..." Sam started. "What is _Lee Palaice_ anyway?

Jonathan just sighed, trying his best to tolerate him. "It's _Le Palais_ , Sam. It's a french-themed restaurant with the exterior and interior of a palace." He explained. "They also have a pretty strict dresscode. You can't just walk in there all dishelved and messy; you have to look like a gentleman, a proper family man." Sam just rolled his eyes hearing his choice of words.

"So, I think... this one." Sam picked up a white blouse and a pair of black jeans. "Classic black and white, right?" He asked Jonathan.

Jonathan looked at it, and he looked impressed. "Nice choice." He said. "Maybe you can pair it up with a tie... if you want to." While Sam thought about whether or not to wear a tie, Jonathan grabbed himself the tux and jeans he wore from last night.

"I'll guess I'll go with this." He said, not too pleased he did not have any more fancy clothes. "It worked last night."

"All done, John?" Sam asked his partner.

"Done. We'll leave at six. For now... I don't know what to do."

Sam just laughed. "Why don't you take me around Jubilife City? I haven't gotten a good look of the place."

"Good idea. You might get lost on the way to _Le Palais_ , he he."

Then something strange happened. I heard Sam complain to Jonathan: "I'm not a little kid, you know!?", yet his lips did not seem to move, and Jonathan doesn't seem to have heard it. Weird.

"So, what about them?" Sam asked, pointing at us. Thank god he remembers we exist.

"...Just keep them here."

Sam looked surprised at Jonathan's response. "Really? In this tiny, cramped, boring apartment room? Why?"

"Well, what use is it for us to bring them around? We're just looking around."

"Seriously?" Jonathan then shot Sam a deathly glare, making Sam submit. "Alright, fine! But can't we at least leave them... elsewhere? Like... the park?"

Jonathan just sighed. "Fine. We'll leave them at the park. Now come on, let's go."

Jonathan, without a second thought, called back his Pokémon back into their pokéballs. Sam, on the other hand, seemed a bit reluctant, but in the end called us back as well. "Alright then, let's get going."

...

It was all dark. Just... empty space. But I can still hear the outside. After what felt like an eternity, I heard Sam call. "Alright guys, come on out!" I felt the tiny ball open, and me being... well, I don't know how to explain it. It's a funny feeling, really. I'll just say... it's like being waken up. A rebirth, if you like.

Looking around, we were at a park, which seemed to be specifically made for Poké were slides, swings, mini swimming pools, and tons of other toys. I looked beside me, and Arthur was standing there, his eyes sparkling. "Oh. My. God. KEITH!" He yelled excitedly at me, way too close to my ears. "Look at this park! Today's gonna be fun, fun, _fun_!" I didn't hear some of his words, thanks to him for deafening my ears.

"Yeah, sure, go on ahead Arthur." I said, looking at all the other Pokémon playing.

Arthur looked back at me. "You're not coming?"

"Later."

"Oh..." Arthur mumbled, looking disappointed. Then he ran off into the crowd and I lost sight of him. Looking around, I spot Spark playing over by the swings, and Adam at some sort of tunnel labyrinth. I just sighed.

" _...Should I?_ " A voice spoke in my head, clearly my thoughts. " _Should I play with Arthur? This looks ridiculous._ " But then I spot Arthur looking at me from a playhouse, sadness written all over him. For a moment I heard him say something: "Why isn't he coming to play with me?", although I _swore_ that his lips didn't move at all. I remembered the small conversation me and Arhtur had, just after leaving that café earlier on this afternoon.

" _...Wanna play later?_ "

" _...Sure._ "

Some sort of... strange feeling started growing in me. In my heart. It was even starting to hurt a little. I shook the feeling off and tried to distract myself by thinking something else. But I can't. All my thoughts were about Arthur. Looking again at the playhouse, Arthur was still looking at me. When I looked into his eyes, I felt another tiny spike of pain in my chest. What was this feeling? I've never felt this before in my life...

There was another feeling... more powerful than before. It was some sort of urge to just go over there, to Arthur. To apologize to him, to say sorry for not playing with him, and then to play with him all day long and forget everything that's happened before. Glancing back at Arthur once more, I realized that he's still looking over at me, as if he's waiting for me to come over to him. I saw him look away, and I heard him whisper: "This is hopeless..."

Whatever that feeling was, it was starting to overpower me. I might have been caught off guard, since I've never felt this feeling before in my entire life. Maybe it was lack of mental preparation, but I gave in to that feeling. And I just... went with my gut. To go over to Arthur.

Running over to him, I called him. "Arthur!" I saw his ears twitch, and he looked back. When he saw me, he started smiling. Running inside the playhouse, I stopped right in front of him.

"Keith! You finally came to play!" He exclaimed happily. "Come on, let's go!" Arthur happily scurried off to another part of the playground. As I ran after him, I felt another strange feeling. Some sort of... relief, washed over me, erasing that other feeling I felt earlier on. It felt like... I had just released a weight off my chest. I actually cracked a smile.

"Wait for me!" I called after him, hurrying up to catch him.

...

Two hours after our trainers left us at the playground, Sam and Jonathan came back. "Hiya guys!" Sam chirped, bending down to pet us. Arthur got a nice pet, but when Sam stretched his hand to pet me, I dodged him. "I guess you still don't like being pet. Spark and Adam also had the same treatment from their trainer.

"Come on guys, we're going to _Le Palais_." Jonathan said plainly. He was about to suck them back into their pokéballs when Sam stopped him. "Wait! Why can't they just eat beside us?"

Jonathan frowned at him. "Seriously?" He groaned. "Have some logic! You think Pokémon are allowed to eat beside us in a fancy restaurant!?"

Sam looked insulted. "Well, I read in this tourist guide," He took out a small book from his pocket and opened it. "and it says that _Le Palais_ is actually one of the very few fancy restaurants that actually allow Pokémon out of their pokéballs while inside... as long as they don't cause a mess." To prove his point, Sam flipped the pages all the way to the 'Food Section' and showed him _Le Palais_ 's description, which stated the exact same thing that he had just said.

Jonathan seemed embarrassed. "Ugh, fine. We can bring them along. But if your Pokémon cause a mess then it's not my fault!"

"Yours too." Sam said.

"Fair. Can we _finally_ move now?"

...

Half an hour later, we had finally arrived at _Le Palais_. The first impression it gave was that it was an elegant restaurant. The exterior was painted with white, along with large columns and french windows. There were also bushes and flowers too. Looking up, I can see the restaurant's name, _Le Palais_ , written in italic. Jonathan looked at his cellphone for a time, and he was relieved to see that he was two minutes early.

Jonathan walked up to the front entrance, followed by Sam. A servant opened the door, letting them in. "Good evening to you, gentlemen." He greeted them politely. "Do you have a reservation? Or do you not?"

"Well, Madam von Platter's daughter invited us here." Jonathan explained to the servant. "So I assume... yes?"

"Let me check." He opened up a small, black book and started flipping through its pages. "Ah yes, Mister Jonathan and Samuel. Your seat is at table thirteen, over in the corner." He pointed at one of the restaurant's corners, where there was a table with two women were already sitting there. "You're a minute early, and I'm sure she'll be pleased to see that you two boys can be punctual."

"Thank you." Jonathan gave a small bow, and headed for the table. Sam looked around for a bit before he hastily followed. Reaching the table, he quickly sat down alongside Jonathan. Arthur sat on Sam's lap, Adam was on Jonathan's, while me and Spark just sat under the table, trying to not cause traffic in the space between tables. A servant then came over to our table, carrying some drinks and placing them down on the table.

From underneath, me and Spark can still see our trainers and the von Platters. Catherine was still the same as yesterday, while we saw the restaurant owner, Jeanette von Platter, for the first time.

Madam von Platter was wearing a long purple gown that went all the way down to half her leg. She was also wearing bright red heels. On top of her head was a large purple hat, which covered some of her long, brown hair. There were flowers on top of her head too. Other accesories include a pearl necklace, gold earrings and a stylish watch.

"She looks gorgeous, doesn't she?" Spark whispered into my ear. The word 'gorgeous' gave me a tiny urge to laugh.

"...She looks great, I guess." I replied curtly. Spark just stared at me.

"You're lying. _Again_. Why can't you just honestly say what you _actually_ think about something? Or someone? Or anything at all?"

I sighed. "You wanna know my honest opinion?" He nodded. "She dresses like an old grandma." Spark nearly burst into laughter but he (somehow) managed to catch himself.

"I guess that's somewhat true." He chuckled, looking back at the 'grandma'. "Don't tell Arthur I said that." I only gave him a smirk, which made him slightly uncomfortable. "Shh... I think they're talking now." We both fell silent, keeping our ears open for anything that sounds interesting.

...

After the servant with the drinks left, a lady's voice came out, presumably Madam von Platter. "I will admit, that I was actually surprised to see you boys a minute early. Most teens I invite come at least five minutes late."

"Well, it's important to make a good first impression." Jonathan laughed in response. Sam only sat quietly beside him.

"True indeed. And I apologize that Catherine's first impression to you... wasn't the best."

"No worries, that's water under the bridge now."

The restaurant owner smiled at him. "Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. As you might know, I'm the restaurant owner of this place, Jeanette von Platter. You already know my daughter Catherine of course."

"Ah, yes. Me and Sam met her at a café nearby." Sam was just rolling his eyes, annoyed at Jonathan pretending to be so polite. Me and Spark giggled at his behaviour, and apparently, so did Arthur and Adam.

"Now, now, don't look so grumpy." Jeanette must have noticed Sam looking unhappy. "Is there something wrong?"

Now another weird thing happened. It was as if Sam said two completely different sentences. The one that matched his lip movement was : "Nothing, Madam. Just a little uncomfortable." But at the same time, he said something else : "Why the hell are we doing small talk!?" But when I asked Spark about it, he said that he only heard one sentence.

"Are you sure that you heard _two_ sentences, at the _exact_ same time?" He asked me.

"I'm positive. I heard it with my own ears!"

Spark just stared at me. "...Are you sure that you didn't eat anything funny before we arrived? Or did you bonk your head in the playground?"

"Spark!" I was getting pissed now. But then I decided to end the argument there and keep on listening.

"I've actually been wondering, Madam von Platter," Jonathan said. "has your entire family been _this_ successful? I am well aware that your family is one of the most successful in the Sinnoh region."

Catherine opened her mouth to speak, but her mother stopped her. "Oh yes, but not all of them. No one is absolutely perfect. I once nearly lost this restaurant due to a poor investment!"

A waiter walked over, carrying the appetizer. "Here is the appetizer, we hope you enjoy." The waiter said, giving a warm smile.

"Thank you, Michael." Jeanette said to the waiter. "I see you're improving."

"Yes, the special training has been very helpful, my madam. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to head back to my station." The waiter gave a small bow, then left. Sam and Jonathan looked at their appetizer, and their mouths started watering. Jonathan was about to dive in when he remembered that Madam von Platter pays close attention to etique and table manners, so he kept his posture. Catherine did the same. Sam, on the other hand, just eated normally, instead of extremely slow and delicate like Jonathan and Catherine.

"Now... Samuel," Jeanette turned to look at Sam. "I heard that you're not from around here?"

"Yes, Mrs. Platter, I'm from Johto."

"Ohoho, Johto! What brings you to the wonderful Sinnoh region?"

"I heard Sinnoh has a lot of great things, from competitions to adventures; it got me interested and so here I am."

Madam von Platter nodded, then started eating. Spark nudged me. "Dude," He whispered. "This is really boring. Like, we're not even getting food!"

I just shrugged. "I dunno. I don't really care about eating that much. I'm just... thinking..."

"About what?"

"About today." I told him about the strange feelings that I've felt in the playground. "It's so weird... I've never felt anything like that!"

Spark blinked a few times at me. I can _definitely_ see that he thinks that I'm either stupid, or I've gone mad. "...Are you sure you're not hearing things? Or are you just feeling guilt?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What's... guilt?"

Spark shook his head in disbelief. "You don't know what guilt _is_!?" I shook my head as a response. "Well, guilt is –" Before Spark could continue, Jeanette started talking again.

"So... do you kids have any dreams?" She asked the two boys. "Having your future planned out is very crucial."

"Well..." Jonathan began. "I wanted to be the best Pokémon trainer in Sinnoh, but... I changed my mind. I'm pretty good at math, so maybe I'll be an accountant. Or a bank manager. Or even better!"

Jeanette smiled at him. "Such high expectations. What about you, Samuel? Do you have any dreams?" Sam seemed reluctant to tell the businesswoman his dream. "Don't be shy. We all have different dreams, whether their small hopes or sound far-fetched.

Sam sighed. "Alright... well, I want to become an explorer. I've always been fascinated by old myths and legends about –" Sam stopped. He noticed that Madam von Platter's expression, along with her daughter, had grimaced. "Uh... Did I say something wrong, Mrs. von Platter?"

Madam von Platter simply shook her head. "No. Nothing at all." She answered curtly. "But... you do remind of... _Richard_..."

"Who's Richard?" Sam asked.

Madam von Platter didn't seem to want to talk about it, but Catherine spoke up. "He's my uncle." She explained. "For years he has always been fascinated by old myths and legends, just like you. But... my uncle was... obsessed with them." Everyone at the table – other than Madam von Platter – seemed eager to listen. "My uncle had always dreamed of finding many legendary and mythical Pokémon, like Arceus, Groudon, and Jirachi. But the one Pokémon that he always wanted to find was a Mew."

Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "A _Mew_?" He repeated. "Why did he want _that_ of all Pokémon? Finding Arceus or Kyurem would have been good enough, yet your uncle had set his sights on a flying _cat_!?"

"It's not like that!" Catherine said angrily, banging her fist onto the table, catching everyone's attention.

"Catherine!" Her mother scolded her. "How dare you cause a commotion in here!"

"But –"

"No buts! Richard was a disgrace to this family, so I don't care whether or not these two boys speak ill of him."

There was a dreadful silence in the restaurant. The friendly mood had instantly vanished. The kitchen, normally bustling of life and shouts from waiters and chefs, had now became eerily quiet. The guests sat uncomfartably in their seats, quietly eating their food. The waiter that had come to serve the table where we sat was literally sweating from the fear of being yelled at. When he finished placing the food on the table, he hurriedly ran away.

...

After we had finished eating the mains, the silence still continued. Finally, Jonathan decided to break the tension. "Madam, I am so, _so_ sorry for the... _inconvenience_ that Sam here had caused." He glared angrily at Sam. Sam just looked at the floor and whispered to himself, " _How is any of this my fault!?_ "

Madam von Platter took the apology. "But... Mrs. von Platter?" Sam spoke up, "What did Mr. Richard exactly do? Why did you call him a disgrace to your family. Madam von Platter's expression was unreadable; as if she was trying to decide whether to yell at Sam or explain the situation. But since she took so long, Catherine was the one to answer.

"My uncle had very different dreams." She explained. "While everyone else imagined creating skyscrapers, mass-production factories and big companies, he imagined finding rare, legendary, even mythical Pokémon. Most of family couldn't understand his dream, let alone support him. He was left all alone. One day, he finally decided to leave the house in search of a mythical Pokémon named Mew. He said that it was 'the key to the future of mankind'."

"Why did he think that?" Sam asked.

"My uncle says that Mew was not just a very powerful psychic-type Pokémon, but also a shapeshifter. According to a scientist's notes – which he had somehow gained access to – that Mew could rearrange their genetic code easily from one Pokémon to another's. It was even said that Mew could be the ancestor of all Pokémon. He believes that if he managed to find Mew, and then _capture_ it, it might finally be the first stepping stone to improve our ability on genetic manipulation, and even gain powers that only Pokémon normally have."

"That sounds like a _huge_ goal." Sam said, impressed. "Genetic manipulation... but then if it's _that_ good, why did not of your family approve?"

"Because they thought that it was an impossible dream to achieve." Catherine explained. "Big game-changing companies and advanced security systems? Surely possible, with all the money we have. It could probably be achieved in a matter of months, maybe even less! But hunting a Pokémon that even _scientists and professors_ think have become extinct? Sounds impossible, even for our family. It would probably take years, and who knows how much money he would have used on radars, maps, tools."

"So... what happened to him?"

"He left. He left to achieve his 'absurd' dream. I heard from Dad that before he left he called our family 'pathetic and unsupporitve of him'. He even said that he was going to cut his ties to the family. Our dad bit him back by calling him 'a disgrace to this family' before he stormed out, never to be seen again..."

"You never heard from your uncle again?"

"Well, not exactly. He got married a few years back, but he followed his wife's surname. That made a lot of people in our family angry. He didn't even invite any of us to the wedding, just distant relatives. Then he formed a club, although I don't know what its name is. I heard that Uncle Richard found other people who wanted to find legendary and mythical Pokémon just like him, and so the club was formed. I heard from a friend that it was a rather ambitious group, the main goal to be finding Mew and extract its power, so I'm sure that the anonymous group she was talking about was my uncle's club."

"That's enough, Catherine." Madam von Platter said stubbornly to her daughter. "I don't want to hear another word about my brother ever again. Richard was a fool; a foolish, deluded, insane fool. A disgrace to the von Platter bloodline."

The table went quiet again. A few minutes later, desserts came, but the talk did not continue. Arthur hoped off Sam's lap to come join us. "Hey Spark, Keith?" He tapped our shoulders. "What was that all about."

"A family with problems." I answered simply, then went back to stare off in the distane.

Arthur frowned at me. "Come on, Keith. You used to be so energetic back when we used to play by that river..."

"I'm not that Vulpix anymore, Arthur. Those are just childhood memories now."

"...So they mean nothing in the present? At all?" I can hear a tone that signified that Arthur would cry soon if I didn't say anything comforting. But I couldn't think of anything, so I just shook my head. "O-oh... you know... sometimes I wished that you were the same ol' Keith I used to know. The one who would always play with me, likes to swim with me, have fun with me... just like the old times..." Arthur sadly walked away and hopped back onto Sam's lap.

Spark looked at me. "You hurt Arthur's feelings, you know?"

"What was I supposed to say!?" I barked at him. "I've grown out of that Keith. I'm more mature now."

"And boring..." I glared at him. "Hey, you and I both now that's the truth. So does Arthur! Why can't you just be a normal, happy Vulpix instead of... whatever you are now?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, honest! I guess... I just lost that spark now... I can't seem to find anything funny anymore..." Spark just nodded, then continued eating his dessert.

...

After a cold farewell, Jonathan and Sam (and us) left _Le Palais_. Outside, Jonathan started yelling at Sam. "Dude, come on! Don't you have any respect for Madam von Platter!? You got her pissed all because you wanted to hear about her disconnected brother!"

"Hey, you and her aren't the only ones who are pissed!" Sam yelled back, defending himself. "She insulted my dream of becoming an adventurer!"

"Well then maybe you shouldn't become one." Jonathan said. "Stupid Mew..." He then walked away, leaving a shocked Sam.

"Did he... did he just..." Sam was about to run to Jonathan to punch his teeth out if Arthur hadn't tugged on his pants and distracted him. Sam picked him up and started petting him. "Haa... why did I end up in the same room as this guy..." He sighed.

"Hey!" Jonathan called. "You coming or not!?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Sam groaned, rolling his eyes.

While Spark and Adam were talking, I just looked at the empty streets. No vehicles at all, only several trainers walking. " _Well, I guess the day's over..._ " I thought to myself. " _We'll never get a day like tonight ever again..._ "

...

...

...

But I was mistaken...


	4. Realization

"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP"

 _Ugh... no..._

"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP"

 _No, just 5 more minutes please..._

"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP"

 _At least one more minute..._

"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP"

 _AAAAAAAAGH!_

"BEEP BEEP BEE–"

Frustatingly woken up, I tried to smash the dammed alarm clock by punching it, but all I managed to do was hit the snooze button... and hurt my paw. " _Ow!_ " I yelled, nursing my knuckles. "Ugh, why did I do that..." Looking at the alarm clock, I checked the time. It was 4 A.M

...

 _4 A.M!?_

"Wah!? Why would Sam or John set the clock to _four in the morning_!?" Confused, I looked around. Sam, Jonathan, and the rest were all still fast asleep. "Uhm... okay..." I said to my reflection in a small desk mirror. "Either this is real, or I'm in some sort of dream where a _real_ alarm clock would wake me up."

For a second, I thought my reflection winked at me. But since I'm still sleepy and tired, maybe it's just my eye twitching... Settling back on the corner where I normally sleep, I tried to go back into a state of dreamless rest...

But it didn't come.

"Stupid alarm clock..." I said, shooting it a dirty look. "Why'd you have to beep..." Right as I finished my sentece, the alarm clock started beeping again. "GODDANGIT!" Running over to the alarm clock, I threw a fury of punches at it, but since it was made out of metal, I only hurted myself. So I kicked it off the table. "I swear, if I ever, _ever_ hear that thing beep again..."

Once again, I went back to the corner, trying to get some rest. But still, sleep didn't come to me. It might have been because of the small angry rush of energy that came over me when I tried to destroy that clock.

"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP"

After hearing that alarm clock beep _again_ , I lost my patience. " _AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!_ "

But suddenly, there was a loud sound; the sound of something being crushed. Looking over the table, I saw the alarm clock on the floor, smashed to bits, as if someone had slammed down a sledgehammer on top of it. "Oh, thank Mew..." I sighed in relief, not caring about how in the world it suddenly broke. " _Now_ maybe I can get some sleep..."

Going back to the corner – again – I curled up to get some well-deserved rest...

"Keith!"

My eyes shot open. It was morning already. "Keith, finally you're awake!" Arthur said to me, shaking his head. You overslept, you know?"

"Ugh..." I groaned, getting up to my feet. "It's morning already? Sam and John haven't even woken up yet!"

"Dude, we _always_ woke up before Sam and John. Are you getting sloppy?"

"I'm not sloppy!" I snapped at him, but then I noticed his expression. "...Sorry."

Arthur merely shrugged. "Figures." He said coolly. "I thought you would snap. You have short temper." I rolled my eyes hearing Arthur comment about my lack of patience. "Anyway, Spark's already woken up. Adam's still snoozing. Spark's over there if you want to talk to him." He pointed at Spark, who seemed to be staring at something laying on the ground.

I walked over to Spark, followed by Arthur. "What are you looking at?" I asked him. Spark looked up, noticing me for the first time.

"Ah, Keith, you're awake." He greeted me. "Well, I'm just looking at this pile o' mess over here." He pointed at the pile of crushed metal, glass, and electronics in front of him. "Seems to be Jonathan's alarm clock." Not sure how it smashed though..."

"Maybe it just... dropped on itself?" I replied innocently, trying to keep my composure from slipping. I _was_ the one who broke it after all.

"Pfft, there's no way it could drop on itself." Spark objected. "Either there was a really stupid and clumsy burglar here last night, or someone smashed it on purpose." Sub-conciously, I gulped, but somehow Spark noticed. "Did you just gulp?"

"N-no." I answered a little too quickly.

"...Okay then, I now deduce you the guilty one who broke this alarm clock." Spark said, smiling.

"Oh come on! You can't just say that I broke that the damn thing simply because I gulped!"

Spark chuckled. "Maybe so. But either way, ol' Johnny over there is gonna be pissed to see this thing broken."

I simply shrugged. "Welp, there's nothing we can do about it." Then I casually walked away, leaving them both to stare after me.

I looked outside the window. The sun had barely risen, or maybe the buildings were blocking the sun's actual position. Staring off into the golden-orange sky, I started to contemplate again.

 _This life..._ _do I really want this? I mean, it's good and all, but... it's not great. Neither Sam or John are keen on battling, and they're not really that devoted on Pokémon. It's as if we're a side-hobby. Or maybe I'm just saying that because I keep getting left out. Sam hasn't really been paying much attention to me, mostly on Adam and Vivico. Perhaps living with Jonathan changed him a bit, or am I overthinking this?_

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. But then I suddenly realized that someone was sitting right beside me. "Eeek!" I shrieked back in surprise. The figure also seemed surprise, letting out a small gasp. Sunlight breaking through the clouds revealed that it was just Vivico, Sam's Leafeon.

"V-Vivico!?" I gasped, not expecting her presence. "How long were you sitting there!? And I thought you were still inside your Pokéball?"

Vivico giggled. "Keith, I was here first! You simply walked over beside me and didn't notice me at all. Arthur let me out this morning. It's good to enjoy fresh air again; Sam's kept me in that ball for _way_ too long."

"Sure, tell me about it." I said plainly, not really caring. Vivico raised her eyebrow.

"You know Keith..." She started. "I've never actually seen you smile before, let alone be cheerful. Can you show me your smile?"

I looked at her, showing her a fake smile mixed with unpleasant emotions. "Happy now?" I asked her.

Vivico just sighed. "Forget it. You'll smile when you're in the mood; no one can force you to smile." She gave a small bow and walked away.

Minutes later, another Pokémon camed. A Kirlia, which belonged to Jonathan. She's the most patient and calm of all of Sam and Jonathan's Pokémon, especially towards me. She seems to see that I have a socialization issue and that I just don't like talking so much. Other than being cool and calm, another thing to be known about her is that she doesn't have a name, since she came from an egg that Sam got. No one could think of a good name for her, so we just called her by her species' name, Kirlia – which ironically is a very good name if you think about it.

"Good morning Keith," She greeted me casually as she sat down beside me.

"Morning, Kirlia." I answered blankly.

"...Stuff on your mind?" She asked suddenly. I resisted the urge to face and glare at her.

"No."

"...You know, you seem to be contemplating your life a lot lately."

"H-heh, wh-whatever do you mean by that?" I asked her, chuckling nervously.

"Well... when you keep your guard down and fall into a state of deep thought, your thoughts seem to be... 'leaking out', so to say."

I glared at her. "Y-you've been reading my thoughts!?" I shouted at her.

Kirlia merely shrugged. "Is that so wrong?"

"Y-yes it is! Those thoughts are private and deeply personal!"

"Well, it is not my fault that your thoughts keep leaking out."

"'Thoughts leaking out' makes no sense at all!"

"Do I really have to explain the basics of mind-reading?" She asked, a small smile forming. "Every time you contemplate about your life, you focus on your memories and certain thoughts, and set some aside... if that makes any sense to you."

I kept my mouth shut, not sure what we were even arguing about anymore. "Just... just go away Kirlia. Just go."

But she stayed put, staring off into the sun.

"Kirlia, you know the meaning of 'leave me alone', right?" I asked her. She looked at me, and sighed.

"Keith..." She said calmly. "Perhaps you might not realize this, or you simply ignore your feelings all the time, but you feel like you are letting Arthur down, aren't you?" I gave an involuntary shudder. "As I expected. Although you don't show it, you deeply care about Arthur. Perhaps it is because you do not want to look soft or compassionate, or you feel like emotions are preventing you from becoming strong, or maybe something else entirely; I do not know. But what I _do_ know, is that you still have a heart. If you really want Arthur to be happy, I think it might help if you bend to his will. His royal majesty would be quite pleased to see you loyal to him." After that long speech, Kirlia got up and left, leaving me to think about her words alone.

"Bend to his will..." I muttered to myself. "Do I _actually_ care? I don't think so, I've never upset him." But then I felt a drop of water onto my paw. I suddenly realized that it was coming from my eyes, as tears. "Wha –"

I heard Kirlia's footsteps stop from behind me. "You can cover it up and convince yourself all you want, Keith the Vulpix..." She said, a bit dramatically. "But no matter what, your heart will always say otherwise." And with that, she went to talk to the rest.

I gave Kirlia's words some thought. _Was she right? Do I actually care? I do feel like Arthur's own brother sometimes..._ I frustatingly shook my head, refusing to believe her. _Bah. That's bull. You're Keith the half-tough guy, not some wimpy caring mommy! Kirlia's wrong. I know who I am, and I don't need some manipulative psychic grass-head to tell me otherwise!_

Calming myself, I turned and walked back towards the group. But for some reason, there's a tiny, lingering seed of doubt in my mind that Kirlia seemed to have placed, making me wonder... if maybe her words are true? But I shook the feeling off, focusing on reality. "So... what now?" I asked my five 'pals' – including Adam.

"Maybe we should wake those two up," Kirlia pointed at Jonathan and Sam, still sleeping. "I think it's about time that they should wake up."

"I'm pretty sure they'll be mad at us if we disturb their sleep, whether abruptly or slowly," Spark interjected. "Maybe we should just wait."

"I'm not sitting here waiting to starve!" Vivico cried out. "I haven't eaten for so _looong_!"

"They'd be pissed if they find out that the Pokémon food ran out!" Arthur told Vivico. "I agree with Spark; let's just wait it out."

"Do you hear that?" Kirlia suddenly said. Everyone instantly stopped talking and listened. There was a sound of incoherent mumbles as Sam's body started to shift. "He's waking up."

Arthur hopped over and jumped onto Sam's lap as he rubbed his eyes. "Oh, morning Azumarill." He said, petting his head. Then he noticed the daylight going through the window. "Wait, what time is it!?" His eyes darted towards where the alarm clock would normally be, but then he saw that it was smashed to pieces on the floor. "Ah, shit!" He cursed, jumping off the bed. "Need to clean that up later." He rushed over to the desk and opened one of its drawers. He picked up the watch that Jonathan usually wears and looked at the time. "HALF-PAST SEVEN!? I need to get into the shower, _pronto_!"

We only stared bewilderedly at him as he ran into the bathroom carrying the clothes he's gonna wear, slamming the door behind him. "What the hell's wrong with him?" I asked, trying to understand what just happened. "Sam's normally a laid-back person!"

"Oooh! I think he's getting ready for a date!" Vivico squealed. Everyone just stared at her... "Heh... _désolé_..."

"What's desoil or whatever Vi just said?" Spark asked Kirlia.

"It's French for sorry." Kirlia answered. "Now could everyone just shut up and let Sam explain?"

Everyone immediately went quiet, waiting for Sam to finish taking a shower. A few minutes later, Sam stepped out of the shower, all dressed up. "Ah, much better." He said, his voice still a bit panicked. "Argh... Jon's still asleep... Gah! I'll just go first!" With that, he rushed out of the door. "Come on you guys!" He added, waving at us, before heading for the stairs.

"Well..." Arthur said, beginning to walk towards the door alongside Adam, Vivico, and me. "Spark, Kirlia, we've gotta go, okay?" His two friends nodded. "Great! We'll see you soon!" And we ran off after Sam.

...

After an hour of running and fast walks, we finally stopped. Looking up, I saw that we were at Weinstein Library, Jubilife City's only public library, and one of the oldest buildings in the city. Sam ran up the stairs and went through the doors, remembering to not barge into a library and anger its receptionist, like last time. Last time he did that, he got kicked out from that library. Sam calmly walked towards the History Section of the library, finding a well-groomed man reading a book. We only watched as Sam walked up towards him.

"Excuse me?" Sam tapped the man's shoulder. "Are you Mr. Newmich?"

The man noticed Sam, and nodded. "Why hello there, young fellow." Mr. Newmich said, ruffling Sam's hair. "Are you the one named Samuel?"

"It's just Sam, sir." Sam answered politely.

"I'll take that as a yes to my question." Mr. Newmich smiled. "Please, come with me. It would be much more suitable to have this conversation in the Reading Corner. The man then guided Sam through the library's hall, with us following him.

Arthur tapped my shoulder. "Keith? Who is that guy?" He asked me.

"I dunno..." I whispered to him. "Maybe it's for a job interview?"

"Likely." Adam agreed – annoyingly. "But let's just see."

Sam and Mr. Newmich reached the Reading Corner and sat at the table at the corner of the room. Mr. Newmich noticed us for the first time. "Ah, I didn't see these four when you walked up to me." He said, crouching down to get an eye-to-eye look. "I assume that these are your Pokémon?"

"Yes, Mr. Newmich." Sam replied.

"Please, call me Matthew." His eyes continue to scan all of us... until it landed on me. Of course, I immediately knew that look on his face. "Samuel, your Vulpix's eyes are blue."

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Is there something wrong with him? A disease, perhaps?" I growled a bit as he said that. It was like him saying that I had rabies. "Because that's not normal!"

"I checked the doctor when I saw that his eyes were blue." Sam explained. "But the doctor says that its fine. Although rare, Pokémon can have different colored eyes than the normal ones."

"Fascinating..." Matthew said, getting back up. "Now, if we may begin?"

"Go ahead."

Sam and Mr. Newmich chatted and discussed all day long. Adam groaned loudly. "Ugh, why did he even bring us here in the first place?" He complained. "We're not even doing anything! We're just watching from the sidelines."

I nodded, agreeing. "For once, I agree with you. This is a waste of time." I looked at Arthur. He seems to be busying himself by reading a book titled ' _Bonds Between : Ties That Bind_ ' I walked over to him, peeking over the book to see its content. I read it out aloud. " 'If one were to leave their partner behind, then what kind of partner are they?' Hendry said to Alfred. "If you think that it is okay to leave me behind in that cursed city, you have another thing coming!' Without waiting for Alfred's reply, he stormed off, leaving his used-to-be friend behind..."

I looked at Arthur, confused. "Um... Arthur? What exactly are you reading?" I asked the Azumarill.

"Oh... _this_..." Arthur seemed reluctant to tell me. "It's not exactly a type of book you would like to read, so..."

"Seriously, Arthur?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow. "I'm just curious. Besides, it's not like I would _want_ to read it!"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Fine... It's a series a friend at the playground yesterday recommended to me. It's the _Bonds Between_ series. This is the first book, _Bonds Between : Ties That Bind_. It's about this guy named Hendry who was invited to go to a fancy party, which the party was attacked by criminals that killed almost everyone inside. Now he and a few friends are trying to escape these criminals, hoping to get back to their own region, and _–"_

" _Okay, okay_ , Arthur." I cut him off. "I get the point."

Arthur just stared at me. "Keith, you've been pretty mean to me lately." He told me, passive-agressively. "Is there something I've done wrong? Did I insult you or something?" I opened my mouth to reply but then he stopped me. "No, forget it. You're just being you; I'm overthinking this... See you later..." Without another word, he walked away, leaving me behind.

Spark walked up next to me, noticing Arthur leaving. "You did it again, didn't you?" He said to me, more statement than question. "You _really_ know how to hurt people don't you?" I didn't answer his question. "Well? I'm waiting?"

I just sighed frustratingly. "Look, I didn't mean it like that, I just –"

"Oh, so you were being you again?" He stopped me, infuriated. "You were just being _yourself_!?"

"Spark, I –"

"Listen to me, Keith." He said dangerously. "I know Arthur. You may have spent most of your childhood playing together with him, but _I_ know him better than you now. Don't you realize it? You hurt the feelings of everyone around you all the time! Whether you say it directly or passive-agressively! Vivico, Adam, me... even your best pal Arthur. I don't know what's wrong with you, whether you lack a heart, or whether your skull's just thick as rock."

His words left me stunned. Have I really messed up this time?

"I'm gonna go fetch Arthur." Spark said, turning away. "This is your second strike Keith. Get a third and you're out of the playing field." He then ran away, trying to find Arthur. I only stared off after him, his words sinking into my heart.

Not paying attention to Sam and Mr. Newmich's conversation anymore, I slowly walked away, disheartened. I pondered Spark's words. "I've hurt everyone's feelings..?" I asked myself. "Am I really that blind that I don't know what I'm even saying or doing?" Kirlia's words earlier this morning also rang in my ears. "You still have a heart, Keith..." I repeated her words as much as I remembered. "Maybe it would help if you bent to the king's will, he'll be quite pleased to see you still loyal to him..."

Kirlia has always like speaking in strange metaphors, but I understood this one now. If I were to ever get Arthur's trust and friendship back, or anyone else's as a matter of fact... I would have to bend to his will. Listen to him when he's talking, helping him do things... Is it just like that? I looked down at myself, my paws shaking. "Have I really been this stupid...? Why hasn't anyone told me?"

No. They wouldn't have said that directly to me. I'm sure that they would think that I'd go on a killing spree if anyone said that. So... I have been ignoring their silent messages. I was too blinded by pride and the sense of feeling powerful. I was so blind that... I've forgotten _Arthur_...

 _I feel... I feel so dumb_ , I thought to myself, tears dripping onto the floor. _I messed up... I messed up so bad... Kirlia was right. I didn't want to look weak, so I threw away my emotions... I ended up throwing it away forever..._

 _I wanna change... Let's start with Vivico... what would she like?_ I thought as hard as I possibly could, but I couldn't think of anything that Leafeon would like. Was it perhaps that I've always neglected our chats? I felt a sharp pain in my chest at the thought. It must be guilt... it's back with a vengeance, heh...

I sighed. I'll just have to think this out later... With that being said, I got up, and went back to Sam.

By the time I got back to Sam, it appeared that his conversation with Mr. Newmich was almost done. Arthur and Spark were also back. I tried to look at Arthur, but he wouldn't even make eye contact with me. Tears streamed down his eyes. For some reason, I knew that they were tears of anger and frustration, aggrivated by my behaviour towards him. A deeper pain hit my chest. The guilt was growing, I can literally feel it.

"Well, Samuel..." Mr. Newmich said. "I'd say you're a very promising recruit. I'm sure that the boss would _love_ to have you on our team. I'll need to discuss this further with him, personally."

"I thank you, Matthew." Sam said, smiling. "It's my passion to go on adventures and achieve great things."

"Splendid! I hope we could meet again some time." The two shook each others' hands, and parted. Sam ran over to us.

"Guys, guys! Did you hear that!?" Sam said excitedly, jumping up and down like a little kid. "I might have a shot at joining the Myth Hunters! I'm gonna run back and tell Jon!" Without waiting for us, he sprinted towards the door, getting scolded by the library keeper. "Oops, sorry..."

I turned to Arthur and Spark. "What are the Myth Hunters?" I asked them. But neither of them of them answered, in fact they ignored me. I looked down at the floor. I've effed up for real this time... I looked at Adam. I could ask him, but I have a much worse relationship with him than both Arthur and Spark combined; he would never tell me. I have so many mistakes I need to make up for...

Walking out of the library, I felt awful. Once I get home, I'm getting advice from Kirlia...


	5. Help

I remained quiet walking all the way back home. I was still... heh, I don't know what to call it. I guess it's a mix of confusion, regret, and broken beliefs. _Blinded..._ I kept thinking to myself. _Blinded... for so long... So comes the term you can't see your own nose on your face, heh... I've done goofed. I've effed up. I'm..._

I shook my head frustratingly. Despite all this, I'm still looking for a salvation, trying to see if there was no problem at all, and that the others are just trying to get into my head. But I see none. I see no cloak, no illusion; nothing. _I_ am the problem. _I_ caused this mess. _I... am a monster._

The thought of that... it made me shiver. An angry tear slid out of my eye. Going back and forth between two beliefs, trying to find which one was right and which one was wrong. It was like trying to compare two bibles with two very different beliefs. _I need to clear my head,_ I thought to myself, _Kirlia... she'll help me, right?_

Kirlia... She was very patient towards me. If she gets angry, she normally expresses it in poems or riddles, that sort of stuff. Really cryptic. I told myself that I would never fall for her seemingly bullcrap advice, but... maybe 'bullcrap' advice is really what I need...

Finally reaching the apartment, Sam and Jonathan laid down on their beds for a while before deciding that they were gonna go to a nearby restaurant to eat some quick lunch. After they left, the tension inside the room immediately rised. I could feel it... Spark's, Adam's, Vivico's, and even Arthur's eyes all boring into the back of my skull. It was a highly unpleasant feeling.

Feeling cast out, I walked towards Kirlia, who was staring off outside the window. "Kirlia?" I asked her as politely as I could. She turned her head towards me, her red eyes gleaming in the sunlight. "I... I need your help." I felt my cheeks go red hot saying that, extremely embarrassed with myself.

She just stared at me, her gaze seemingly piercing through my body. After a minute, a faint smile appeared on her face. "You've finally come to your senses haven't you?" She asked, slightly amused. "I never thought this day would come." She added.

I was startled by her accurate diagnosis. "H-how did you...?"

"You had that look on your face. One that I've never seen on you. Regret, fear, confusion. I don't recall you ever feeling like that."

"Don't rub it in, _Kirlia_." I growled, annoyed at her smug attitude. "Are you going to help me or not?"

Kirlia stared off again, but I knew that's how she normally concentrates. After a few minutes, she looked at me again. I could tell that she was going to give me some sort of mysterious advice. "A crime physically done can be healed, but a harrassment mentally done takes much more than time. A stain on a shirt can be easily cleaned, but a hole in a heart will take time to mend."

I blinked a few times, not understanding what she's trying to say. "Er... what?"

Kirlia sighed. "You have signed a forbidden contract that should have been thrown away. You've locked yourself in a cell from which you cannot escape."

"Speak english please?"

"...A verdict has been made."

"What?" Urgh, I hate it when I don't understand her. It's so frustrating!

"Guilty. Of all charges. Fifteen years sentence. Lucky you avoided death penalty."

"Okay, I'm tired of all your bullcrap!" I yelled at her. "Just. Say. What. You. MEAN!"

Kirlia stared at me. Her red eyes scanned me up and down, analysing me. My mind was racing. What the hell is wrong with her!? Can't she understand my predicament!?

"Keith..." She started. "I think I've made it clear, haven't I?"

"THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?" I yelled at her. Her stinking pride, thinking she's better than everyone! I had to say a swear word just to emphasize what a b-word she is! "JUST EXPLAIN!"

But Kirlia remained quiet.

I was going insane, mad! I was losing my mind! What is she trying to do, get me to snap? Break me down? Whine like a baby? I don't know, I just don't know. Haha, I think I'm mad. I think she's doing it; she's breaking me down, but I can't break down. I'm a tough kid! But that's what she's trying to prove against, right? Trying to show me that I'm not strong; that I'm weak, pathetic, _a fucking useless dirtbag!_

Angry, hot tears were streaming out of my eyes. I slowly crumpled down, falling to my knees. I needed her advice, there's no one else who would support me. I was desperate. "Kirlia, please!" I cried, practically begging. "Just... just make something clear, okay!? Even it's just one word. Just say something that my retarded brain can understand!

Kirlia seemed shocked at my behavior. I'm sure that in her mind that she would never think that I would go down to such a level. "...Alright." She finally gave in. "If you want to know the answer to your predicament, follow me." She walked towards one of the beds and jumped onto it. Still crying, I followed suit.

Once on the bed, Kirlia ordered me to lay down, resting my head on the soft, fluffy pillow. Then she handed me a pen and paper. "Now, here's how this is gonna work." She explained. "You're going to take a nap. I'm going to enhance the mental energy in your brain in order to make a dream. Whatever you see, hear, or do, I want you to express it in a picture or a paragraph later. Got it?"

Although unsure how this was going to help me _at all_ , I was desperate and I needed hope. Never have I felt so weak in my entire life. I nodded weakly. Slowly, I felt myself drifting away... floating... swimming... my mind running backwards in time, my body being hurled through space...

...

And suddenly, I landed on solid ground. Looking around, I seemed to be in a theater. But it was full of Pokémon instead of humans. The opening intro for the movie was about to start, but there was something oddly familiar about this place... Normally, almost every memory I have of my childhood was vague, but this place... I know I've been here before, I just can't put my finger on it...

But as soon as I saw the film's name, I remembered. The film... titled 'The Loyal Dog'. I suddenly knew that I didn't want to be in here. I wanted to get out, I must! But when I tried to get out of my seat, I noticed that my hands and feet were chained to the seat. Everyone was looking at me. A Growlithe that I never wanted to remember ever again was sitting beside me. And they were laughing... laughing... laughing _at me_. I was being _laughed at_. I felt my dignity shatter before my very eyes. Everything was coming back to me... the reason I wanted to hide my feelings forever...

...

Suddenly I was back in reality. I was sitting upright in the bed, gasping for air. Kirlia hopped onto the bed again. "That was fast." She commented, seeing the sweat on my face. "But I think it was enough."

"More than enough..." I said weakly. My chest hurts. My head was pounding. Sweat dripped all over me. Never would I think that I would go back there again...

Without thinking, I grabbed the pen and paper that Kirlia gave me earlier on. I drew a simple, but very self-explanatory picture. It was a picture of a Vulpix surrounded by the shadows of various Pokémon, all of them laughing while the Vulpix weeped and silently cried. I even drew a movie ticket with the film's name on it just to further explain the picture. I handed it over to Kirlia, who examined it carefully. She raised her eyebrow, clearly curious with its hidden meaning.

"Keith..." She looked at me, but not in a way that I've ever seen her look at me before. I saw pity in her eyes. It was like she was looking sympathetically at a poor, lost puppy, all alone and wet in the rain. "Keith, if I had known this... maybe I wouldn't behave as I normally behave around you..."

I stared at her, confused. "Wh-whatever do you mean by that?" I asked.

Kirlia sighed. "I didn't know that you had a trauma for emotions. It's such a terrible thing; to be afraid of everything you do because you don't want the world to know who you truly are underneath."

"Kirlia, it's not terrible –"

"You say that because that's how you've been living ever since you watch that movie." She interrupted. "I wonder what kind of person you would be if you _never_ watched that..." I was beginning to imagine it already. I'd still be the same me before... before the _incident_ happened. "Keith, I know that I might be pushing you a bit hard right now, but could you describe that incident to me?

I felt as though that Kirlia had just kicked me in the gut. She's asking me to relive that horrifying moment!? "Kirlia, I-I don't know if I c-can..."

"If you can't then that's fine." Kirlia replied calmly, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe some other time."

As soon as she jumped off the bed, I reached breaking point. I wasn't weak, not _that_ weak anyway. And I want to prove it to her. Even if it feels like a million daggers stabbing my ribs... I must conquer fear – right in the face.

"It... it was Saturday evening..." I started. Kirlia noticed that I was reciting my memories, so she came back to listen. "Arthur had convinced me to watch this movie. He said that a friend told him that it was really good, so he wanted to see if it was true. When I heard the title, I first thought that it might have been some sort of action movie, a war dog maybe. But towards the end of the film, I soon regretted agreeing."

"It was a tragedy tale, not an action-packed film. A Pokémon's love, forever loyal to its trainer who one day suddenly died during a freak accident outside town. No one wanted to tell the poor thing that his trainer had passed. Since he didn't know, he just waited... and waited... and waited... slowly getting thinner day by day, night by night... and he continued waiting... and waiting... and waiting... He didn't care how long, he just wanted his trainer back. He _believes_ that his trainer would never abandon him, maybe he's just really delayed. So he continued to wait... and wait... and wait... and _wait_... until he –"

I gulped. The words wouldn't come out of my mouth, but I kept pushing on. "Until that Pokémon eventually starved..."

The same tears I had from when I watched that movie reappeared again today, as tears streamed down my face and onto the bed. "Th-there was a Growlithe beside me. I asked for some tissue, a-and... he laughed. He just _laughed_. He said: "Dude, seriously? That movie was cheap shit! Wasn't sad at all!" And then he told his entire gang about it and all of them laughed, mocking me for being so sensitive... From that day I promised myself; that I should never be so sensitive ever again."

My paw shaking, I reached for one my six tails behind me. From inside the curl I produced a piece of paper. That piece of paper was actually the very ticket from that movie. "I-I still keep this... to remind me of that oath I made that day, I-I even look at it every night before I go to bed. I never want to be weak, not again. I don't want to look like a... like a... like a _weakling!_ "

My last word rang out through the entire room. Arthur and the others just glared at me, thinking that _they_ were the ones being called a weakling, but they shurgged it off. Kirlia only stared sadly at me. I wiped a few tears off my eyes, waiting for her response, but she doesn't say anything. "Wh-what is it, K-Kirlia?" I asked her, my voice hoarse from crying. "Y-you have nothing to say?"

Kirlia just shook her head. "For the first time, you've made me stumped." She sighed. "Before you and I met for the first time, or at least before I was traded from Sam's ownership to Jonathan, this is a problem that I cannot answer."

"Wh-what do you mean you can't answer it?"

"I'm saying that... this a deeply personal wound. That wound's effect on you has obviously changed your demeanor and attitude. It also affects your actions. Everything that you do has always been linked to concealing your emotions. Showing no emotions to your friends however... It's like saying that you don't care."

I just looked down at the floor sadly, my paws shaking. My _own_ oath caused this. "What do I do know?" I asked her softly. "How can I fix this?"

Kirlia thought for a second, before her eyes fixed on something. "What's that behind you?"

Looking over my shoulder, I saw a small book. Picking up, I saw the title was _How to be a better friend_. Kirlia looked at it too. "Didn't realize that you brought this."

"I... I didn't bring it Kirlia?"

"Then why does it have a library stamp on it?" Looking closer, I saw the library stamp. The book would have been needed to be scanned if it wanted to go through the detector without raising an alarm

"M-maybe Sam borrowed it?"

"I didn't see Sam bring anything back. Nor did Jonathan."

I looked down at the book again. "...You think it's a blessing?" I asked her. She looked at me weirdly. "I know, I know... that sounds ridiculous. But maybe it's a sign? The first step to fixing this all?"

Kirlia just shrugged. "If that's what you wish to believe then." She said.

I spent the entire next hour reading the book. In that amount of time I had finished reading halfway. The book was short but its contents were clear and straightforward. I read one part that says that if you made a mistake, you should apologize – with a gift if you want. Well, everyone knows that! Though... how _should_ I apologize? There's different methods to it obviously. I'll just go with a simple, straightforward apology, along with some explanations.

I looked around. Who should I apologize to first?

Arthur? Nah, he's probably still mad at me.

Spark? Same with Arthur.

Adam? He'd never accept an apology from me!

Vivico? Might be the safest option.

I walked towards the Leafeon, who was basking in the sunlight through the window. "Hey, Vi?" I asked her. She looked at me, and I could tell that she wasn't too pleased. "Can I just say something?"

"Of course, _Monsieur_ Keith. Go right ahead!"

"C-can I just..." My heart felt heavy with lead. I didn't realize that it would so difficult to say sorry to someone. "Can I just say s-sorry about this morning? A-and everything that I've ever done to you?"

She just stared at me for a minute, and then she smiled sweetly. "You are admitting your mistakes?" She asked.

 _Was I really such a pain in the arse?_ I thought. "Y-yes," I answered quickly.

" _Oui!_ Then I accept your apology." I breathed a sigh of relief. That was... easy, I guess? But the others won't be so forgiving...


	6. Forgive Me, My Friend

_Things have been rough lately._

 _In the last week, a lot has changed. Sam got accepted into this... clan, I guess, full of people who believe and want to hunt down legendary and mythical Pokémon, such as Arceus, Jirachi, Groudon, Reshiram... But everyone knows what the ultimate goal is : Mew. That was their clan's dream; to catch Mew. And it turns out that the group leader was Richard Trevelton, the disconnected brother of Madam von Platter. She did talk that he was obsessed with finding Mew..._

 _I was completely against the idea of Sam joining that club, so I ranted about it to Arthur and Spark. But they just yelled at me, telling me that I should be at least supporting Sam for following his dreams. So I yelled at them back, and I regret everything that I said then, because Spark shocked me really good... I haven't talked to them since..._

 _Not just that – last night I had a nightmare. I dreamt that I was in court, with Vivico being the judge. I was the accused, and Arthur was the accuser, with Spark being his lawyer and Kirlia being mine. When court went into procession, it can be immediately seen that Arthur, Spark, and the jury all bombarding me with 'evidnece' of harmful words, verbal harrassment and unnecessary violence. It continued on to the point where Kirlia gave up, and I was pronounced guilty. Suddenly I fell into a hole, and I continued falling and falling and falling and falling –_

 _And then I woke up. So I write all this down, just to say this :_

 _Someone help me._

That was the note I showed Kirlia just now, still early in the morning, sunlight barely shining through the apartment window. Kirlia just read it, her eyes skimming through the words, her eyebrows raising occasionally. Eventually she finished and handed back the note to me. "Well?" I asked her a bit shakily. "Wh-what do you think of it?"

Kirlia just sighed. "Be honest with me," Kirlia said sternly. "you told me that you _didn't_ write this, even though this was written from _your_ perspective, has _your_ dream, has _your_ signature... and yet you didn't write _any of this?_ " I nodded. "If that is true... then this is most certainly an odd happening..."

"I-I swear Kirlia, I d-don't remember writting any of it!" I was starting to sweat, rubbing my paws together nervously. "Please tell me there's a logical explanation for this..."

Kirlia thought for a minute before replying. "It could be a note written by your subconscious."

I was fairly confused by her statement. "My... subconscious?"

"Yes, your subconscious." Kirlia repeated. "Perhaps you were guilt-ridden by everything that has happened, and unawaringly wrote this without much thought. Or you could have been sleep-writting. That is just my thought, of course."

Since I didn't have any other explanation for this, I accepted her theory, not wanting to think that a stalker trying to scare me wrote that note. "A-alright then..." I then threw the note into the trash bin. "Is Arthur awake yet?"

Kirlia looked at the sleeping Azumarill, whose head was resting against Spark's body. "No, not yet." Her red eyes scanned me top to bottom. "You want to apologize to him, don't you?" I looked at her, annoyed, thinking that she read my mind again. "I didn't read your mind, I swear. It's been pretty obvious during these past few days."

I just sighed, slumping down on the cold floor. "I-it's just been so difficult..." I moaned somberly. "I keep saying things that sound insulting. I can't help it; I don't like feeling 'I'm happy for you'. My relationship with Arthur and Spark has plummeted down a lot in a single week. In fact, I think Arthur doesn't even consider me as a friend anymore..." An angry tear escaped my eye and slid down my cheek. "Why is this so damn hard...?"

"It's hard to be friendly when you've had a bad past with someone." Kirlia said, reminding of the pain I felt in the cinema back then. "I understand your problem. You don't want to appear like a weak person, but that doesn't mean you have to be so insensitive."

"I don't like being too kind either!" I kicked the glass window with my front legs in frustration, but instead of a cold hard thud, the glass suddenly shattered into thousands of shards, fragments raining down. Me and Kirlia jumped back just in time to avoid the sharp fragments. Kirlia stared at me in disbelief, her glare burning through me.

"Wh-what was that for!?" She yelled at me. I've never exactly heard her get angry before, but I think she's fairly dangerous when she is. "I know you're upset and all, but did you _have_ to break the window!?"

I shook my head, panicked. "Wh– I didn't... But..." How the heck did I smash the window. A normal kick shouldn't have broken it! I didn't put that much power into it either...

Sam, Jonathan, and everyone else in the room woke up with a start, alerted by the sound of glass breaking. When Jonathan saw the broken window, he went nuts. "THE WINDOW!" He screamed, running over. He was grinding his teeth in frustration, followed by Sam, who was just watching. "Why, when I find out who did this..." His eyes darted towards me and Kirlia. He looked between me and her, calculating. " _YOU TWO DID THIS!?_ " He yelled, furious.

He then gave this really long crappy speech about discipline and all that crap and how we should be behaving better and blah blah blah, you'd rather listen to it at all. In the end, Jonathan punished us by not giving us breakfast, while the others get more than enough to eat. Kirlia just sighed at his decision. "Couldn't he be more reasonable?" She groaned. "Like, at least give us a pellet or two?"

Arthur, who saw us not eating anything, offered Kirlia a handful of pellets, which she gratefully took. However, he seemed reluctant at giving me any. I just looked sadly at him. "A-Arthur..." I started. "I-I know that I've been treating you wrongly lately, b-but... Give me another chance, please?"

He thought for a moment, but shook his head. "N-no, Keith..." He said, looking down at his feet. "You've said that a lot of times before... but you never kept that word. You changed ever since... _that day_..." There was a sad look in his eyes, a look that broke me inside. "You've never been the same since..."

"Arthur..." Vivid images popped up before my eyes as I recalled the day he was talking about...

...

It was the day after Arthur took me to watch that devastatingly and traumatically sad movie, and he asked me to accompany him to go watch a movie called 'The Sword of the Vale'. Before yesterday, I was actually all hyped about that movie. But now...

"What do you mean you're not coming!?" Arthur said, taken aback. "You said you were gonna come with me!"

"I-I'm sorry Arthur..." I told him, not looking at him directly in the eye. "It's just... I don't feel like it..."

"B-but you promised..." He gave me a sad face that made my heart wrench in guilt. I tried to shake the feeling away.

"I-I can't Arthur... Maybe next time...?"

Arthur just smiled weakly at me. "You... you promise?" He held out his paw to make the handshake promise; kinda like how humans do pinky promises.

"I promise." I told him, shaking his paw. "Well... I'll see you later then..."

I walked away from him. After a few seconds, I looked back at him. I saw him looking sadly down at the road, a tear slipping out of his eye. With a heavy breath, I saw him slowly turn and walk away from the cinema, tossing away the two tickets he was holding. One was for him and the other one... was for me...

...

"You've made so many similar promises since that day." Arthur said, snapping me out of my recollection. "But you've never kept any of them. In fact, it started to spread into your daily life, and you were developing a much more... miserable and violent attitude... I didn't even recognize you back then... You were... nothing like the Keith I used to know and love before..."

Arthur slowly walked away, leaving me and Kirlia quietly eating a few pellets. After a while, Kirlia spoke up. "Why don't you show Arthur that note?" She suggested. "Maybe that'll show him that you still care for him."

Following Kirlia's advice, I walked over to the trash bin and dug my paw into it (yuck), searching around for the note. It wasn't long before I pulled out a piece of paper that I assumed was my note, but when I opened it, I realized that it wasn't mine. It was typewritten, and had a signature at the bottom: 'Arthur'. My eyes lingered on the name. Arthur wrote this? When? It must have been during the times Sam was AFK on his computer sometimes, stopping to eat or nap. Arthur must have used it to write and print this.

I started reading it:

 _Every day, it was just him and me, playing and hanging out. We never spent two hours alone, we were always glued to each other. Sometimes he would go awhile to get me something, or sometimes we would go together. We were... insperable._

 _But then one day, we went to the movies together. When I came out... he didn't. At least, not 'the' him. I never saw him again since. Sometimes I would go to that place again, hoping that he would come back; the real him, walking out through those large oak doors. But nothing ever happened._

 _I miss him..._

 _I miss the days when we would play tag with our friends together..._

 _I miss the days when we would tell each other ghost stories..._

 _I miss the days when we would roll around in the grass and count stars with each other..._

 _I just want to be with him one more time..._

 _Even if it was just for a day..._

 _Even if it was just for an hour..._

 _Even if it was just for a minute..._

 _Even if it was just for a moment..._

 _I just want to spend one last time with you... together... with the real you..._

 _With love, Arthur_

As I finished reading the note, I noticed that it was rather wet. I realized that it was from _my tears_. I gasped in disbelief, blinking. I'm... crying? I thought that I made a promise never to cry again... No one saw that! ...Right? I looked at the others. Jonathan and Sam were bickering, while Arthur, Spark, Adam, and Vivico were having small talk. Good, they didn't see me cry like some baby. But still... _Arthur_...

Looking back at the note, I noticed that it was crumpled up. Perhaps Arthur decided to discard it because he didn't want me to see it or something similar. But the word choice... He must have poured his heart and soul into it, because Arthur would never say something like this in real life. It's small, but it packs a punch. It's... _touching_...

Realizing what I was thinking, I shook my head. No, why am I thinking like this!? You're not some guy who listens to feelings, feel all these... emotions! PATHETIC! But isn't it exactly what I'm _supposed_ to feel? That book on friends I read says that it's normal and completely okay to sympathize with someone, and yet I feel that it's wrong. Ugh, my head hurts... I have such a split personality...

Sighing, I walked over to Arthur. His ears twitched as he heard me coming, looking at me. At first he didn't look too happy, but then he saw the note I held in my paw. "O-oh." He mumbled, his expression softening when he spotted it. "You... you found my note..." What surprised him even more was that tears were streaming down my face, dripping onto the floor. "Keith, are you... are you _crying_?"

"I-I-I'm so sorry Arthur..." I whimpered, sobbing. "I-I know that you're j-just trying to be with me, as a... a friend, but... I've ignored that for so long that... that I f-forgot..." I looked at him straight in the eye. "I... I realized th-that... a-and I wanna start over, I wanna be friends again, b-because... without you, I... I'm _nothing_..." More tears streamed down, making my sight blurry. "I-I know that y-you probably don't want to believe or t-trust me on that matter any more, b-but... I've become l-less, s-something inferior without your friendship to guide me. S-so please... Forgive me Arthur, I w-w-want –" I could no longer continue as I started choking out more tears to the point where I couldn't speak anymore. Arthur just stared at me. Surprisingly, he walked over to me, rubbing my back a little.

"Keith, I _do_ want us to be back together again." He said to me. "But... How can I be sure that you won't be like last time you said that?"

"...Tonight."

Arthur stared at me. "What?" He asked, confused.

"You, me, and Spark; the three of us. Tonight, out at Furret Park." I told him. "I know how much you ch-cherished those old times w-we played together at the parks: the swings, the slides... everything. I wanna... I want to go back to that time again... and catch up with you..." I was a sobbing, stuttering mess, begging for his trust.

Arthur looked at me thoughtfully and nodded. "Alright then..." He finally said. "I'll tell Spark." I thanked him for taking up my offer, and he smiled and walked away.

 _Maybe tonight's the night..._ I thought to myself. _Maybe I can finally fix what I've done to Arthur and Spark with my ignorance for the last four years... Maybe, just maybe, we could even be best friends again..._ I looked at Adam, thinking whether I should invite him or not, but I shook my head at the thought. _No... he has too much resentment towards me that he'll slap me the moment I ask. Maybe some other time..._ " Finally, I let out a heavy sigh, and climbed onto the desk to nap in its corner...

...

...

That night at the park, around a quarter past six, Arthur and Spark finally came. I wasn't sure that they would come, especially Spark, but here they are. I looked somberly at them, cracking a small relieved smile. "You came," I said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I... I wasn't sure you would come..."

"Like I said, I want us to be back together again." Arthur said, smiling. "So? Are we gonna play or what?"

"...Let's play."

For the next entire hour we played all sorts of games: tag, hide-and-seek, the swings, the slides, the roundabout; everything! I sat down on the swing, rather worn out. I saw Spark walk towards me and sat down on the swing next to me. He stared watchfully at me, his yellow Shinx eyes shining in the moonlight. "Four years, ya know?" He said to me. "Four years you were a grumpy old Vulpix who wouldn't give shit to anyone, and suddenly you're back to Mr. Cheerful... Why? Did a rock hit you and you finally regained your senses?"

I laughed. "Sort of." I replied. In the corner of my eye, I saw Arthur, playing happily on the slide with a Furret. "I want him to be happy again... for his sake and mine."

"So you do care," Spark said, looking at the Azumarill as well. "and all this time I thought you were blind on both eyes."

"Just one, Spark..." I said, chuckling. "Just one..."


	7. Legend Hunters

"Samuel Black,"

That was the first thing the man at the front door of the manor said. According to Sam, this manor is supposedly Richard Trevelton's idea for a 'base'. Well, I guess it _is_ fancy, not like those guilds in the middle of forests. This is the first time Sam is taking us here. Jonathan didn't want to come because he thought it was stupid and unnecessary, but Sam managed to convince him by saying that if he doesn't like it, he can leave whenever he wanted. Sam also brought us – his and Jonathan's Pokémon – along, because apparently we'll be 'working' there too.

"Yes, that's me," Sam replied.

"And who's this fellow?" The bulky security guard gestured at Jonathan, eyeing him suspiciously.

"This is my friend, Jonathan. I hope you don't mind that I brought him along."

"As long as he causes no trouble, all's good. Alright, you can come in now."

And in we went. Instantly, you step into the front hall and see that it's bustling with activity. People chatting everywhere, handing documents, drinking coffee, running from the bathroom and back, and typing on their keyboards. There was a large black chalkboard standing alone beside the grand staircase. Crudely written on it was : 'Legend Hunters: Legends and Myths Are No Match For Us'. I quickly assumed it was their team name and motto, but it sounded _really_ cheesy.

"Samuel Black," A dark-haired man with an Indiana Jones-looking outfit walked down the grand staircase, his warm smile greeting us. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." He noticed Jonathan. "Is this your friend?"

"Er, yes, Sir." Sam replied nervously, scared to get scolded for bringing him. "I-I hope you don't mind."

The gentleman shook his head indifferently "Of course not. I'm always glad to show young kids what an important job we do." Jonathan rolled his eyes and those words. The gentleman noticed. "Even though some of them are really stubborn, we still try." He added.

The gentleman then lead Sam and Jonathan upstairs, although we remained downstairs. Sam told us to go explore the place while he discussed some things with Mr. Richard, the leader of the club. I'm assuming he was that guy wearing the Indiana Jones outfit, because Sam had called him 'sir'.

A loud groan made my head turn. It was Blanch, Jonathan's Buizel. Originally, Blanch was Sam's Pokémon, but Sam traded him for Vivico the Leafeon, which had belonged to Jonathan at the time. I met him shortly after Sam caught me and Arthur, and I think he was traded only a year later, when Sam first met Jonathan. Vivico became happier living with Sam. On the other hand, Blanch did not. Jonathan doesn't like letting his Pokémon out, which upsetted Blanch a lot, since he liked being outside that stupid ball. If he was let out, he would try to do everything he possibly could before Jonathan trapped him back again.

"About fudging time!" He muttered angrily, stretching his arms and legs. "Two weeks! _Two fudgin' weeks_! I don't know how I survived that, but I did..." Blanch noticed me, and he gave me that usual sinister grin he always gave me. "Well, ain't it the crappy Vulpix~"

Honestly, I don't even know who I hate more, Adam or him. I think Adam has a slight edge just because I see him more frequently than Blanch. That's the one thing I like about Jonathan's bad habit of not letting 'big' Pokémon like him out. "Blanch, not now..." I growled at him. I was too lazy to get in another pointless fight with him, but he persisted.

"Aw, are you getting _soft_ , Keith?" The word 'soft' felt like a humongous stab through my pride, and it took all my willpower to resist beating the shit out of him. I just snarled at him, and then stormed off.

In my frustration, I didn't realize that I had walked into a brightly lit room. When I noticed the lighting change, I looked up and around. Dozens of bookcases created rows of corridors in there. On the walls were beautiful paintings of various sceneries such as mountains and lakes, the wall lamps beside showcasing them in a glorious orange spotlight. Chandeliers hang from the ceiling on their chains, lighting up the room. Chairs and tables are neatly positioned in a fashionable order in the corner of the room, much like a reading corner. It was obviously a library, much fancier than the last one I had went to.

As I took in the view of the library, a small, dry cough interrupted me. Turning around, I saw that there was a desk, most likely serving as the librarian's counter. The librarian, a tan-skinned man with light brown hair, was sleeping on his job. Looking a bit to the left, I saw that the Pokémon _beside him_ was the one who made the cough. It was a Servine, his red eyes gleaming at me.

"Welcome to the Felter Library." The Servine greeted me with a male British accent. "Mind my trainer; he's basically a Slowpoke. I'm not even sure how he hasn't got fired yet, but whatever." His squinted his eyes at me, looking at every detail of me. "Hmm... You're new here, huh?"

"Y-yeah..." I mumbled quietly. I'm not used to be engaged in a conversation in this way.

"Well, glad to see a new face around here." He smiled, extending his hand. "My name's Ralph, by the way."

"Keith," I replied, shaking his hand. "so... what's in this library?"

"The usual stuff," He Ralph replied casually, flicking the pages of a notebook. "documents, manifests, maps, testements, legends, myths; it goes on and on. There are a few selection of novels in that row over there, or you might be interested in certain highly fascinating history books in that section." He pointed to the two areas he was talking about. "But I suggest that you meet the others first. They usually hang at the table in the center of the library. Just walk through that corridor and keep straight." He indicated at the narrow pathway between two large bookcases, which I went through.

A little while later, I reached the table Ralph was talking about. It was a large reading area, about 10 tables, each with 4 chairs, making that 40 chairs. Several potted plants were placed throughout the area, just for decoration and a modern touch. There weren't any humans in the library, but there were some Pokémon – three, to be exact – all sitting at one table. I walked over to the table and tried to introduce myself, even though I was never good with this 'social interaction' thing. "Er... hi? C-can I sit here... please?"

 _God, that was a cringe..._

One of them looked skeptical, and the other one didn't react. But the last one, a Mawile, welcomed me to stay. "You can sit," She said in a calm manner. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Isabelle, and these two are Clinton and Xera." She gestured towards the Bunnelby and the Espurr sitting alongside me, respectively.

"So this is the new guy, hm?" The Bunnelby, Clint, said. Observing me, he raised an eyebrow. "One of you people with those 'different eyes' thing..."

"So?" I didn't mean to sound so aggresive, but my brain just acted on instinct. The Bunnelby just shook his head, unpleased at my response.

"Aggresive and rebellious. I can't work with people like _these_!" He wailed. "When will the boss _ever_ get decent recruits!?"

I felt insulted, and I felt rage boil up inside me as I glared at him. When I was just about to get off my chair and strike, a small tap on my shoulder interrupted me. It was the Espurr, Xera. She stayed silent, but shook her head, her look saying 'don't'. Remembering my last argument with Spark and Arthur, which painfully resulted with me being shocked, I took a deep breath and remained seated on my chair (with great difficulty).

Isabelle nodded appreciatively. "I thank you for not lashing out. Clinton can be fairly... hostile, at times."

"Well course I am!" Clinton argued back. "Why can't we have proper folks with patience!?"

"Says the Bunnelby who's lashing out!" Isabelle yelled back. "Now just shut up while I talk to the newcomer!"

"Fine!" The Bunnelby then got off his seat and stormed out of the reading area.

There was a tense silence hanging in the air as the three of us remained quiet, thinking about what just happened. "I... I'm sorry. You didn't need to see that..." Isabelle said to me. "By the way, I didn't think we caught your name –"

"Keith," I replied quickly, hoping to get out of the library soon. "c-could I go now? I need to look for my friends."

"Of course." Isabelle replied, but then suddenly her eyes widened. "Hang on. Is Adam the Minccino part of your group?"

"Adam? Yeah, why?" I watched her intently. She seemed fairly disturbed by my answer, though Xera the Espurr kept a poker face. Isabelle was rubbing her hands together nervously, as though unsure what to say.

"Minccinos are normal type, if I recall?" She asked. I just nodded. She got even more nervous and sweat was beginning to visibly drip down her face. "Oh dear, oh dear..."

"What's wrong?" I was getting scared now. Was there something wrong being a normal type? Maybe there's a severe type discrimination around here? Or a 'No Normal-type' policy? Whatever it is, if it concerns Adam, I need to know. Otherwise the others might blame me for not warning them or something.

"Richard doesn't like normal-types." Isabelle said grimly. "At all. It's mainly because they're not super effective against anything, which makes the boss considers them 'weak'. And in fact..." She looked around, making sure that there was no one else but the three of us around, then leaned closed and whispered to me. "I've heard rumours that they get _experimented_ _on_. A lot of normal-type Pokémon around here, strangely enough, don't last long. They either die in freak accidents, get killed by other Pokémon, or maybe worse."

I gulped nervously. Did she mean that Adam's life is shorter now because Sam joined? "Then why don't you stop it?" I asked her. "My friends will freakin' kill me if something happens to Adam!"

"Alas, I cannot." Isabelle sighed. "Other than my own word and several others', I do not have solid proof. Even if I do, would any of the human trainers here believe me? And how am I supposed to tell them? Well, some of us can write, but we risk our lives doing so. Richard would have our heads and probably label us as 'disobedient Pokémon'. It's too dangerous."

"There's no rebellion? You're not fighting against this unfairness!?" I was fairly angry that they wouldn't fight for freedom, when their fellow normal-types are being slaves to torturous and devious experiments. I could imagine Adam sitting in a restraining chair, various drugs being injected into his body through syringes, simply to make him more powerful. I couldn't bear the sight and shook my head, clearing the picture.

"As much as we would love to, we can't. These people have _guns_! And they're either shotguns, rifles, or rapid-fire weapons. Even if we gather all the capable Pokémon here, we might all die under an hour."

I sighed. I just hope that Adam just doesn't get into any weird shit, or if the rumours are even true. I should try and warn him though; it might just save his life. "Th-thank you for the, er... _fascinating_ information, Isabelle." Disturbed by her tale, I walked out of the reading area and library before she could reply.

On my way to the Pokémon's Area – which Sam had pointed out earlier – I ran into Adam. Immediately, I called his name. "Adam! Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Adam just rolled his eyes, but he did walk towards me. "What is it?" He grumbled. "If it's a shitty apology, I'm not taking it."

"It's not an apology! I swear! I talked to some Pokémon around here, and I heard that normal-types like you don't fare very well around here." I told him what Isabelle had said to me about normal-types often dying here. "So... be careful, okay?" Strangely, Adam just laughed. "Wh-what's so –"

"Dude, I am _not_ falling for another one of your curse stories," He said, snorting. "you're just trying to get in my head so I don't perform well! Hmph, I'll show you!" Without another word, he grunted angrily at me and stormed off. I could only stare after him.

 _Why had I told him all those freaky-ass tragedy tales in those past years,_ I thought to myself. _I just hope that nothing bad happens to him, or else..._ I shuddered to think of what might happen to him. There was a small cough in front of me. I looked up, and saw that it was Clinton, the Bunnelby.

"What do you think you're doing, loitering around in the hallway!?" He snapped at me, his ears twitching impatiently. "Go to your room or something!" In my head sprung a word, though I resisted saying it: _Asshole_

" _FINE!_ " I yelled at him, then sprinted past him and went straight into the Pokémon Area. "That jerk..." I muttered under my breath. "I wish he wouldn't be so rude to me..." Looking up, the Pokémon Area was basically a playground, full of all sorts of rides and toys, none of which I was interested in. I noticed Arthur, Adam, and Blanch playing together at the roundabout, Blanch spinning it while Arthur and Adam tried hanging on. "They seem to be having fun... without me..."

I was in a room full of strangers, where my only friends were busy playing without me, hanging out with other Pokémon. I watch the rest chat, play, eat, drink, sleep... This room... I feel so alone in this room, like I'm unneeded here. I shook my head. "Fuck that," I said, cursing. "I'm gonna go back to Sam's room and take a nap; find some solitude to clear my head..."

Walking down the hall and taking several turns, I reached a door. Beside with a piece of paper with the name 'Samuel Black' roughly written on it. It kinda looks like scratching. Regardless, I opened the door, which was not shut properly, and looked around. It was a simple room, almost like back in the apartment. A single bed, a dresser, a work table, a mirror, a small bedside table, and some decor. The walls were cream and the floor was wood, slightly creaking with every step I took.

I clambered onto the work table, trying to get comfy. Having six tails has its benefits; you can easily snuggle up in them and not worry about the hard surface too much. After finding a comfortable spot, I slowly dozed off...

...

Dreams... so many bad dreams...

 _"_ _Adam, no!"_

 _"_ _How could you do this, Keith!?"_

 _"_ _Not after this..."_

 _"_ _Get lost and never come back, you filthy murderer!"_

"FWAAH!" I woke up, startled. My entire body was sweating. I frantically looked around. Although the lights were out, I can still barely make out the silhouette of them still sleeping. Some of them were snoring too. "Ah... just another nightmare... I've been having so many nightmares..."

It's been a week since we've been here. Sam's been doing some scouting missions for the club, and he's been getting fairly well-known amongst the others; rookies and experts alike. The others have been getting more friends too. But not _me_. In fact, I had worse problems.

Every night since we've come here, I've been having non-stop nightmares everytime I sleep. Even during naps, which I thought was impossible. Sometimes I'd get twice, maybe even three times, in a single day! The worst part is, I remember all of them, vividly too. It all felt so real... Counting the one I had just now, it makes the grand total of twelve nightmares, all in a single week. "Why won't these nightmares stop...?" I breathed, rubbing my forehead. I was getting sick of it, all these horrifying and gruesome dreams I've been having... Were they normal? Or was it from an external source?

Normally, people won't be able to remember their dreams, but for some reason... I do. I try to forget, but the new nightmares remind me of the previous ones. There was one where the entire base was destroyed along with everyone in it, there was one where I was tied to a railroad track with a ghost train heading towards me, and the last one, the one I just had... I saw myself, emanating a flaming black aura, blood all over my teeth and claws, the body of a Minccino laying in front of me. Then –

"Urkh..." My stomach churned. I remembered what happened next, but I felt ill remembering it. I don't feel like telling it at all; the pain felt all too real... "God, help me..."

I prayed and prayed to the heavens that I can sleep well tonight, but even as I nestled up in my bundle of tails, I couldn't sleep, from the fear of having another nightmare. These terrifying dreams keep getting even worse than the last. I shudder to think of having another ultra-realistic nightmare... But eventually, after several hours, slumber finally overcame me.

...

 _"_ _UAAARGH!"_

 _"_ _What are you doing!?"_

 _"_ _We don't need you anymore, you shit –"_

 _"_ _GET OFF ME!"_

 _"_ _You are your own undoing, Keith..."_

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" I screamed, waking up and kicking my legs everywhere. I blinked as light shone into my eyes. "Wh-what..?" I looked around me. The room was empty, all except Spark the Shinx, who was laying sleepily in bed. He seems to have woken up from my scream.

"What the hell, dude!?" He yelled at me. "You scared me half to death!"

"S-sorry..." I mumbled, my entire body sweating. "I-I had another nightmare..."

Spark just rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'm gonna go find Arthur." He got up and walked away, muttering swear words under his breath. I just sighed.

"Why does this happen to me?" I said, gazing at my reflection in the mirror. "Why? Tell me why..." My reflection appeared to tilt its head a bit in pity, but I think it's just me going crazy. "I think I'm losing my mind..." I muttered, looking away from the mirror.

...

An hour later, Sam suddenly announced that _we_ , his Pokémon, are gonna follow him on a recon mission. The last missions he did didn't need any Pokémon, but since his team were going to a not very well-known region, Pokémon and weapons were advised to be brought. Jonathan and his Pokémon stayed behind though, since they aren't part of the clan.

The mission was to go scout an abandoned town north of Jubilife City. I think Sam had mentioned it once, wanting to go there, but Jonathan prohibited him. No wonder he was so excited for this trip. The abandoned town was over a century old, some people claim that it was the original Jubilife City. Theorists say that something happened there, and the people living there moved to the spot where Jubilife City stands now.

It took about two hours by a rover to get there. We drove through Jubilife City and headed into the woods, driving several more miles before the first sight of an old building covered in vines. Several hundred feet later, we reached the abandoned town. The buildings were really old; the paint on the buildings has chipped away and cracks spread throughout the walls. Some were even covered in moss and vines.

Sam and the rest didn't waste time – they quickly hopped out of the vehicle and spreaded out in groups. But I was too busy looking around at the wasteland, and by the time I realized it... they were long gone...

The town... the air temperature just dropped a little... There was no one here, it was like a ghost town... Or was it? A tiny tingle crept up on the back of my neck. "H-hello?" I called, looking around. "Sam? Arthur? Guys?" There was no response. It was just dead quiet.

 _Dead quiet_.

I felt shivers crawl up my spine as I wandered aimlessly around, looking for the rest. "G-guys? Wh-where did you go?" In my head I kept repeating to myself: _I'm not scared, I'm not scared, I'm not scared, I'm brave, I'm strong, I can't get scared..._

But even deeper inside my mind, other words kept repeating: _I'm dead, that's it. I'm abandoned, lost, left for dead. I'm a gonner, that's it..._

WHOOSH

I whipped my head around. _What was that!?_

It became quiet... too quiet...

A large shadow came over me. I was petrified with fear when I saw it. Slowly, I turned my head around, fearing whatever was behind me.

And then I saw it.

A snake- no, a serpent. A gigantic one, it's evil red eyes glaring down upon me. I couldn't move; I was petrified by its frightening gaze. I felt my knees go weak and my heart sink. All I could do was just stay paralyzed in fear.

I felt its strong tail wrap around my body and around my neck. I felt it squeeze and tighten around my throat, choking me. I tried to struggle and gasp for air, but the serpent was too strong. _N-no... It can't end like this..._ The world started to blur...

...

...

 _Not like this..._

Somehow, I managed to cling onto a slimmer of my conciousness, my will to survive burning. I'm not dying, not today. Arthur... What would be of him if I suddenly die? I can't let that happen... So I struggled, I resisted. I refused to black out, I refused to die, even as my lungs were nearly fully deprived of oxygen, I still hanged on. Me and the serpent's eyes locked. His cold glare intensified, making me whimper under his mighty tail's grip. But I still tried to live.

Minutes went by as I shook, I wriggled, I even bited, but the mighty serpent would not release me. Even with all my willpower to survive, it didn't matter if your body was as weak as mold. I felt cold... I felt death... _I... I can't die... not yet... please..._ I still tried to suck in more oxygen into my lungs, but my airways were blocked tight. The world began to blur again, in fact it began to get bright...

As every sense in my body went numb, my ears managed to pick up one last sound:

"Knock him out,"

Then everything went black.


	8. The Forbidden Town

_"_ _Wakey wakey..."_

It was black. Dark. But then my eyelids slowly opened, adjusting to the low light. My ears rotated around, and my eyes shifted left and right, trying to figure out where I am. It looked to be some sort of classy room. I tried to move, but I found out that it hurt. "Akh! What the –" I realized that my body was somehow wound up in barbed wire; tightly. Any more movement might scar me. "Oh Arceus... where am I?"

Looking in front of me, I saw that there was a lit fireplace, the flames crackling. There was someone standing in front of it. Judging by the silhouette and little color I can make of it, it seems to be a female Meowstic. I tried calling her for help. "Uhm... Hello? Who are you?"

In an overly melodramatic fashion, she slowly turned around, her red eyes glinting at me. I felt that sharp stare pierce into me. I felt an aura around her... one of power, control, authority... It made me feel weak; puny, but I tried to look fine and stared right back at her, trying not to show fear. "I-I said, who are you?"

Curiously, the Meowstic just smirked. "I could ask you the same question." She said coolly, in an accent that was slightly... Russian? Maybe? "I did not expect the Legend Hunters to come all the way here." I was surprised that she knew that? Did she see the vehicle we came in with?

"Wh-who are you?" I repeated for the third time. "I demand to kn-know what's going on!" Suddenly I felt a massive headache, like my head just split into two. " _YAAAAAARGH!_ " I screamed in agony, clenching my paws into fists. I tried to stop screaming, gritting my teeth, but the pain was too much. " _GRRAAAAAAAHHHH!_ " Reflexively, I tried to reach my head with my paws, but sinced I was tied up in barbed wire I scathed my arm instead, causing even more pain. After one very painful minute, the headache stopped. My head was thumping from all the torture I endured.

"F-fucking hell..." Yes, I know I swore; it was that painful! "Wh-who the hell a-are you..?"

The Meowstic just started walking in circles around me, our eyes continuing to lock with one another. "Who am I? I run this town, boy." She said coldly. "And much more out there. You have the nerve to come in my home territory? Then again, you were dragged here by those... _Legend Hunters_... so I guess I'll forgive you." She stopped in front of me, bending over. She whispered into my ear, "Though, you're lucky Hevan didn't kill you right there and then..." She just smiled at my stunned face.

Several thoughts whirred in my head. This scenario... it felt familiar... Then it hit me. I had a dream like this once, a nightmare I had. I think it was my seventh nightmare since being with Sam in the clan. I remembered being in an old-fashioned 19th century room, complete with a fireplace. I was bound up in thick thorns. There was also a figure in the room with me, but it was completely black, not even a silhouette was present. I saw its mouth open and close, but all that came out was incoherent murmuring. After it closed its mouth, it suddenly lunged at me, and a painful headache woke me up from my dream.

"Wh-who are you?" I asked once more. If this is the one from my dream, then I have to know more. Perhaps it _was_ an external source giving me those dreams. Maybe... those weren't even dreams... but visions... "Who are you?" I repeated stubbornly.

The Meowstic just sighed, casually leaning against the wall right next to the fireplace. The lighting effect made it so that only one half of her body and face could be seen, while the other half could not. "If you insist," She said, smirking. "call me Valencia. I run this place."

I was puzzled. "Valencia, huh? Could you tell me where I am?"

"That's it?" She said, staring amusingly at me. "You just wanted to know my name? You did not want to know _why_ you're here?"

I flushed a bit. It felt like an insult to my honor. "Of course I want to know," I told her angrily. "I was coming to that."

Valencia just rolled her eyes. "Hm, if you say so. If you must know, I am a mafia leader." Those last two words were said with such power that it struck fear into my heart. " _And_ , you're our prisoner." My heart plummeted. I've been captured by the mafia? How _wonderful_. Somehow, she saw my changed expression and chuckled. "Don't worry, you won't be here for long. You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. You're lucky I was there, or Hevan would have killed you."

"I assume Hevan's the serpent who tried to strangle me?" I formed a spontaneous hate towards this 'Hevan'. "Why was I targeted? Am I on some sort of hit list?"

"Oh dear, no." Valencia said, smiling at the idea. "I got a tip that an ex-friend of mine, a Vulpix, would be where you were at the time. Me and Hevan went there of course, waiting to get my vengeance. Hevan struck first, strangling you with his powerful tail. I watched you slowly suffocate to death. But then... I realized that you weren't the one I'm looking for. So I told Hevan to knock you out quickly before an unneeded casualty occured."

I raised an eyebrow. She... knew that I wasn't the one she was looking for? I asked her that question, "How'd you know I wasn't the one you're looking for?"

"Simple. Mind-reading. Like I said, I'm extra cautious. When you lasted longer than I expected, I figured something was wrong. I was correct."

Me and Valencia just stared at each other, an understanding made between us. I just nodded quietly. There was just silence, complete silence for several minutes before there was a knock on the door that I never noticed. "Boss! Is he the one?" I heard a voice shout through the door.

"No." Valencia called back. "We're letting him go."

"Boss! You know we can't let a prisoner go! He'll tell the world!"

"I've made my decision." Valencia said, heading towards the door. "Hevan, he won't be a problem. Even if he is with the Legend Hunters. They don't care about us."

"But –"

"Do you want to lose your head?" I just admired how badass that woman actually is, and completely terrified as well. She's a freakin' gang leader! And yet... I remain as calm as ever. I didn't feel any danger. I sensed that... she wouldn't harm me... or was that just false speculation?

I thought about the others. Arthur... Valencia said that this town was her turf. What if something happens to them? I can't let Arthur get hurt! He could be dead for all I know. I tried to move, but the barbed wire only pricked me. "Argh! Uh, excuse me? Valencia?" I called her. "C-could you untie me now?"

Valencia thought for a moment. "Fine. It's an easy cut anyway; I'll have Lezzar cut it. That's just thorny vines."

I was confused. Thorny vines? This was most certainly barbed wire. "These are not vines! This is metal, barbed wire!"

The Meowstic just smirked. "No, no... it's an illusion, cast by me." She explained. "Zoruas and Zoroarks aren't the only ones that can perform them. A simple Scratch should do the trick." Not too long later, a Weavile walked into the room. Male, from what I can make of it. "Lezzar, free him."

"On it." He said in a scruffy voice. With a single cut, he sliced through the 'barbed wire'. I stretched my arms and legs a bit, feeling much more unconfined.

"Th-thanks..." I said to him, trying to smile. The Weavile just snorted.

"Gah, whatever. Get outta here." He grunted. "Boss probably wants to see you anyway."

So I ran out of the room, rushing to chase Valencia.

When I finally found her, I noticed that we were in some sort of study. There were several Pokémon chatting in the corner. The shelves were filled with books and there was a desk with papers scattered all over it. Several pictures were pasted onto the wall. Valencia was flipping through the pages of an old book until she noticed me.

"Where are my friends?" I quickly asked her before she could say anything. I was worried about Arthur. If she runs this place then she _should_ know where he and the others are. Big gangs like this normally have eyes everywhere. Valencia set down the book she was holding, looked at me.

"Don't worry, I didn't harm any of them. Nor did my men." She said calmly to me (even though her tone was very cold). "I assume that you want to get back to you. I allow you to do so, but under one circumstance: that you do NOT mention me, or my mob. Is that clear?" I gave a stiff nod as a reply. "Good. I'll have Puppet deliver you there."

Valencia then ushered me outside of the building we were in, said goodbye, and quickly went back inside. Looking back at the old structure, the design resembles an old Victorian era manor, now covered in vines and walls dull with age. A Shuppet suddenly appeared in front of me, surprising me. "Yargh!" I screamed, leaping back a little. "Wh-what is wrong with gangsters and their surprises!?"

The Shuppet merely laughed. "Ya better get used to it," the young male voice said. "my name's Puppet. Mind you, it's not my actual name; just a code name the Boss gave me." He squinted a bit at me, noticing something. "So... I'm supposed to 'escort' you to your destination, is that right?"

"Yeah..." When I looked at him, I noticed that same look everyone always gave me; about my eyes. "My eyes _are_ blue. I'm one of those Pokémon.

Puppet flushed a bit with embarrassment. "O-oh, I see. Sorry, I've never seen anything like it." I simply said a quick 'it's okay' and then told him to move on. "Alright, follow me!"

Minutes passed as we walked through the remains of the deserted town, old buildings and dead trees lined up along the street. It gave a really eerie vibe. Wanting to break the creepy silence, I engaged an conversation with him. "So..." I started. "You said that you're code name was Puppet?"

"Yes?"

"Does that mean everyone has a code name?"

He thought about it for a minute. "No, not everyone. Only the people who often go out on missions so that their real identities don't get discovered. I'm often sent on scout and delivery missions. I know some other people who have code names. There's Headshot, Vampire, Knight of the Light, Red Herring..."

"Um, okay then..." A thought popped into my head, but I hesitated on whether to ask about it or not. I decided to wait a bit longer. "How's life?"

"Back at the gang?" The young Shuppet just rolled his eyes casually. "Pretty cool, I guess. Sometimes things happen, sometimes they don't... It's actually quite normal, you could say. Except for all the secrecy and our style of life, of course." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Mind you, I don't like rough. I'm not much of a fighting type." He added.

What he said just now just added more to the question I wanted to ask. I decided to go for it. "You know... you look like a good kid..." He stared at me, confused. "Um... What I'm asking is... why are you here? You don't... really look like someone who'd dwell in this gangster stuff."

His levitation shook a little, and he blinked. "O-oh, is it that obvious?" He asked. "Well, ye see..." For a moment, it looked like he couldn't continue, his eyes shining with emotion, but he pushed on. "I'm _here_ because I have nowhere else to go."

"What does that mean?"

"I have a family. I mean, sure, everyone has a family at the beginning, otherwise you wouldn't exist. But... mom and dad never really liked me. They always said that I was a disappointment. That I wasn't strong, worthy, smart, and blah blah, the list goes on and on. But that's not true!" He screamed, a tear almost escaping his eyes. "I _was_ good! I still am! They just didn't notice it..."

Something didn't add up for me. "Why didn't they notice?" I asked him, wondering about his parents's behaviour. "I mean, _surely_ they'd see that you're good at something...?"

"They _did_ see it, but..." He sighed, pausing for a moment. "Do you have an older brother?" He suddenly asked.

"Wh-what? No, I don't have one." I decided not to tell him that I wasn't even _raised_ by my parents because they were taken away from me before I hatched. "Why do you ask?"

"Because _I_ have one... and it sucks." The Shuppet's levitation slowed a bit, thinking. "I was always shadowed by him. Underneath him. Whatever I did, he always did better. That's why mom and dad couldn't see how good I was; they always compared _me_ to my _brother_. I could never beat him, at anything, and so mom and dad continued calling me a failure. Then I had it. I left and never came back."

I looked at him, stunned. "You... ran?"

"Yes... I couldn't stand living with them, living with _him_. Even he laughs at how incompetent I am. I felt useless because of him. I lived for years on the streets, no real purpose in life..." His eyes started glimmering. "Until... I met her."

For a second, I though he was referencing some sort of girlfriend, but I quickly realized that he might just be talking about Valencia. "You met Valencia?" I asked, trying to make sure. He just nodded somberly. "And then what?"

"And then my whole life changed," He answered, smiling. "She saw potential in me and offered me a job. Although I know crime is wrong, I had no choice. Would a man wasted in poverty and debt refuse a million dollars for a small price? Morally, no, but that's where crime is born. But I'll admit, I'm living happier than ever. There are actually those who support me in the team; it made me feel useful again. I crawled out of that dark abyss not long ago, and I'm so glad I didn't turn back."

I looked down at the ground for a moment, pondering his words. _"I crawled out of that dark abyss"_... _Lucky you_ , I thought, _I'm still stuck in mine._

"Hey, you there?"

I blinked. Looking up, I saw Puppet staring at me. "You were drifting away there," He said. "Are you fine?"

"I-I'm all good," I told him as confidently as I could bring up. I quickly changed topics. "How much farther anyway? I asked.

"Hmm... Should just be another mile. We can small talk while we walk."

Quickly, I tried to think of a nice topic to talk about. The weather? Notoriously lame. Family? From what I heard from him, best not. Perhaps I should talk about his friends back at the mob. I'm not completely sure that Valencia just let me go and forget everything. She's a careful, meticulous, and fairly thorough Pokémon. I'm sure that she's got someone watching me from the shadows, so knowing more about the gang might be useful.

I asked about his friends as subtle as possible. "Are the Pokémon back there... cool?"

Well, not the best question in the world, but he answered it with joy. "Super cool! There's Jeff, he's the gang's resident hitman, then there's Underling, the littlest guy in the group, but he's just a sweet bundle of joy! After that there's Laxe, he's our main supplier, then there's..."

Puppet continued on and on for almost ten minutes.

"There's also Piór, who's the third supply manager, and then –" He abruptly stopped, and so did his movements. Curious to the sudden halt, I looked around. There was nothing. Just old buildings and dusty fog.

"Why'd you stop?" I asked him. "Do you see them?"

Pupppet didn't respond, he was just staring ahead. I followed his gaze, squinting through the fog. Then I saw it: there, in the distance, was a rover. The headlights were on, most likely recently used. From what the silhouette shows, it looks like the rover I was in before getting seperated. "I think that's it." I said to Puppet.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. I thought it was a cop car or something." Noticing my confused look upon the comment, he explained to me. "The gang is mainly centered in this town. It's no wonder a lot of things happen here, so cops go around here all the time. Of course, Officer Jenny knows what she's doing, but that doesn't mean that she can catch us~" I sensed an amused note at the end of his sentence. I chuckled lightly, and moved towards the rover. Soon enough, more silhouettes appeared, those of both Pokémon and humans alike. Once I saw one that looked like a fat rabbit, I knew that this was my group.

"Alright Puppet, you can leave now." I told him. When he didn't move, I suddenly got concerned. He was staring at me weirdly. "...Is there something wrong?"

Puppet continued staring for a full minute, then came closer to me, his eyes concerned. "Be careful," he whispered. "If you're with the Legend Hunters, you better be cautious. Rumors of the bad things they do have spread even to my gang. They're... unpredictable..."

I gulped, but I soon quenched my fear from surfacing. "Noted."

"Oh, and one more thing." Puppet seemed more concerned now. "One day in your life, you'll be on standing on a thin line, where both sides are blurry. And then... you just won't know what to do..."

I stared at him, confused but also equally frightened by his words. "Why do you say so?" I asked.

"I say that from experience. It happens to the best of us." He glanced up, suddenly realizing that the rover had moved and was driving towards us, the headlights getting brighter. "I have to go now. It was nice talking with you." A second later, he flew past me and into the dust fog, disappearing. I only stared after him before the rover stopped beside me.

"Keith!" My ears perked up at the familiar sound. Looking up, I saw Arthur, Adam and Vivico looking down at me. A faint grin appeared at the corner of my lips when I saw them; even seeing Adam. _Sweet safety..._ "Keith, where were you!?" Arthur yelled at me, his voice heavy with worry. "We thought you disappeared! Or worse!"

"I'm fine now, Arthur." I replied, jumping onto the rover's side and climbing up. After settling back in the seat, I finally relaxed. "Everything's fine..." Despite Arthur's many concerns, my brief and modified explanation of what had happened pleased him enough. "Where to now?" I asked.

"We were searching around town for you," Arthur said. "We're still doing so. And that's pretty much it."

We then spent the next 2 hours roaming around the town in the rover. There were all sorts of old buildings, from houses to the city hall. We also encountered several Pokémon along the way. I even saw Puppet. He winked at me as the rover past by. I winked back at him. Fortunately, no one noticed.

Eventually, the team got worn out and since they didn't find any promising evidence of legendary Pokémon having been here, we left. Few hours later, we arrived back at the safety of the clan. The humans got a long lecture by Richard – the clan's leader – who was of course pissed that they didn't find anything and ranted about how they could have tried using different techniques and so on. The Pokémon were left out, since what were they to be lectured about? I felt a bit sorry for Sam.

As nightfall approached, fear started to sink into me. I was afraid of sleeping, the constant nightmares restraining me from having any rest. Black rings were even starting to form under my eyes. Afraid of slumber, I snuck into the library. The lazy librarian was asleep on the job, _again_ , but his Servine remained as diligent as ever. He welcomed me, and told me that the library doors were to be locked in another hour. I nodded blankly at him, heading for the reading area.

At the reading area, the fourty chairs were all empty except for one seat. Xera the Espurr was sitting at one of the tables at the far end of the reading area, reading a velvet-covered book. Noticing me, she looked up and waved at me, smiling a bit. I waved back, though impassively. I slumped down on one of the tables, just staring up at the dozens of bookshelves surrounding the place. _Maybe if I just read a book, I'll feel better_. Getting up, I walked towards one of the bookshelves and pulled a random book out.

The title read: _Bonds Between : Ties That Bind_

I blinked. This was the book that Arthur showed me at the Weinstein Library. I shifted uncomfortably. _What a coincidence that I find another one here._ But for some strange reason, I felt like this was no coincidence... that this was fate...

No, this is bullshit.

Immediately, I chucked the book back into the shelf where I found it. Walking across the reading area, I approached another bookshelf and pulled out another random book.

The title read: _Pull_

 _Pull? That's it?_ Staring at the title – which was written in capital letters – I just realized that the cover also had a picture on it. But when I looked at it, I immediately shoved it back into the shelf. I rushed over to a table, slamming my paws down onto it. But then there was a sickening crunch, and I saw that I had somehow made a crack on the table.

I tried to clear my head of the disturbing image. The book's cover showed a hand holding a bloody knife, with the picture colored in grey. The image reminded me of a dream in where I killed Adam... and faced an evil, black Vulpix that loked just like me.

I just stared blankly across the room, not knowing why the dreams keep happening. _Something's wrong with me... I need to find a doctor..._

I felt a light tap on my shoulder. Looking up, I saw that it was Xera, the Espurr. The way she looked at me reminded me of the face of a kind mother comforting her child. "Xera..." I mumbled to her, slowly rising. "I'm afraid. I keep getting these freaky nightmares... What should I do?"

Xera didn't answer. Instead, she just pointed at my forehead. "My head?" I was puzzled for a moment, but then I got what she was trying to say. "Oh... my mind. Well, I dunno... How am I supposed to check that? Is there a doctor here? A _psychic_ one, maybe?" Much to my gratefulness, she nodded. "Thank god... I'll go look it up later." But then, that terrifying fear came back to me; one that I am too cowardly to face. "But... what now? I-I'm still afraid of going back to sleep..."

Xera just shrugged. It wasn't a dismissive one, it was the one that said: well, that's up to you to decide. I just smiled sadly at her. "Thanks, Xera." I mumbled shakily. She just smiled, and then walked away.

As I made my way back to Sam's room, a thought crossed my mind. Why does Xera never speaks? Maybe she's mute, I'm not sure. I wanna ask, but I feel like that'll make her feel self-conscious about herself. Eh, I'll just worry about that later.

Finally reaching Sam's room, I saw that everyone has gone to sleep. Sighing, I tiredly jump onto the desk I usually sleep on. Nestling in my six tails, I looked in front of me. There was a mirror there, my reflection also snuggling up. Staring into my ocean blue eyes, I quietly prayed, "May Mew protect me..." Again, I swore I saw my reflection smile a little, but maybe that's just the sleep deprivation. After I've calmed down, I slowly drift off to sleep...

 _Alas, perhaps peace was not meant to be._


	9. Nightmares Do Come True

It was early in the morning, the sun had barely risen. The reason I had awoken so early was because of another nightmare, one I do not wish to recall the details of. Horrific images of what will become me had flashed before my eyes in that dream; sadistic, cruel, and uncaring. And then what it whispered... _Your time has come, Keith..._

I blinked, shaking my head. _Once I get to the source of these nightmares... I can finally get some wonderful as hell sleep..._

I didn't dare going back to sleep, afraid of another nightmare, so I decided to explore the place a bit more. The mansion was big after all. I went to the library, the kitchen, the park, the front patio, and even the upper floors, which were restricted for Pokémon. I felt a bit uncomfortable being up here, knowing that Isabelle had told me that this place was probably restricted because secret experiments on normal-type Pokémon were being held here. But since I'm a fire-type, I should be safe... right?

Passing several doors, which all have the word 'office' on them, I saw a large glass door, surrounded by glass panes, making a large square window. Apparently, it led to the balcony. But what interested me was not the balcony itself, but _who_ was at the balcony: it was Xera, the quiet Espurr. The balcony was facing east, where the sun was rising, making most of her features masked, but it's definitely her. From the looks of it, it seems like she's writting something on a book.

Curious, I quietly opened the balcony door and apporached her. Halfway across the balcony, I stopped. _This is a bad idea, I shouldn't interrupt her..._ That hesitation made me look away for a moment, and when I looked back, she vanished. "What?" I blurted in disbelief. Where'd she go? Did she teleport? Not that it mattered; since she's not here, I guess I should just leave...

But as I was about to leave, I hesitated again. _The book._ Looking back, I saw the closed book. My heart thumped. _Should I...?_ Some strange force was compelling me to read the book. Does that mean it's good? Or is it a trap? But either way, I just didn't accpet the fact that I might never find out what's inside, so I quickly rushed over to it. On the cover I saw words written in fancy golden lettering: 'Diary'.

My heart thumped louder. I instantly changed my mind, ignoring the strange gut feeling to read it. _If it's a diary, then I'm not reading it_. As I began to turn around, I sensed someone. I felt a pair of eyes stare at me, observing. Gulping, I turned around, fearing that it was Xera.

It was Xera.

 _Shit._

We stared silently at each other, the wind blowing quietly. Flushing a bit, I stammered, "U-uh, hi Xera... Um... I d-didn't read it, j-just so you know..." I was honestly a little afraid. Quiet people are normally unpredictable. The next thing she did _was_ unpredictable. She smiled. _Smiled!_

I stared bewilderedly at her. "Y-you're not mad at me?" She shook her head. "A-at all? Not even a little bit?" Again, she shook her head. I was confused to why she wasn't at least upset; who would want _anyone_ to read their diary? Then, even more to my amazement, she simply vanished in a blinding white light, teleporting. The wind only quietly blew through my fur as I stared where Xera was standing, utterly baffled.

In my head, I tried to think up a logical conclusion to why Xera did what she did. I could only come up with one. _Perhaps I should just trust my gut and read the diary. Maybe that's why she wasn't mad. Maybe she had expected me to invade her privacy and read it._ Although the theory sounded stupid and ridiculous, I couldn't come up with another possibility. So I picked up the diary and flipped through it, skim-reading it.

Nothing in it was actually personal. It was mainly personal opinion on certain things. Other stuff included her regular daily activities and thoughts. I felt a bit relieved to know that I wasn't going to delve into a high school girl's book of secrets. As I flipped the pages, I noticed one that dated back a few days after Sam and Jonathan arrived here. I spotted several paragraphs containing Xera's personal opinion on Arthur, Spark, Vivico, Kirlia, Blanch, and me. I laughed a bit when I saw her opinion on me.

All it said was this: '?'

 _I guess even she's uncertain on how to judge me_ , I mused to myself.

Continuing on, I flipped through the pages, when it suddenly stopped. _Huh, stupid sticky pages._ I peeled it off, seeing glue dripping off the page. That couldn't have been accidental, right? Looking at the page I opened, I realized that I definitely wasn't. I read the contents, baffled. When I reached the end, I reread it again, just to make sure.

 _Keith, I know that you've been suffering lately. What you told me last night made me sure of it. Although I am uncertain why you keep getting nightmares, I've personally met up with the clan's best doctor (a Pokémon doctor, of course) to check your condition. I've even asked her to wake up early this day, so you can check with her immediately after reading this. The clinic's at the first floor, farthest room down the east wing._

 _You might be wondering, how I knew you were going to read this. From what I know of your... 'condition', it's most likely for you to wake up early today from another nightmare. I stood outside your door to make sure. Once I knew you were awake, I went up here; the balcony. This note has just been written recently._

 _To how I knew you were going to the balcony... Well, that wasn't a coincidence, no. To be frankly honest with you, I guided you here. I will not go into the details, but I merely controlled your subconscious a bit, tugging and nudging your mind into the right direction._

 _I know that you'll find this and my method rather creepy and uncomfortable, even stalker-like, but I'm doing what I thought would be best for you. Forgive me if you don't like this approach; I'll be more direct next time. For now, you should go see Doctor Lirrian. She's the Espeon at the clinic. Being a psychic-type, I'm sure she'll be able to help you, although I doubt she would be able to cure you._

 _Regards, Xera ;)_

After I made sure that this note was serious, I felt confused, but also relieved at the same time. I didn't really understand why Xera didn't just give me the note directly, but from reading this note I immediately jumped to the conclusion that she was an introvert.

And so, I decided to do what Xera has written in here, and went to the first floor of the manor.

Going down the far end of the corridor, I saw an Espeon. I assumed that she was Doctor Lirrian, the Espeon at the clinic and one of the Pokémon medics. Walking over, I greeted her. "Hi... are you Doctor... Lirrian?"

The Espeon nodded, beckoning me to walk into the room. As I did so, I observed her. I prefer to assume that she was in her twenties, since you can't tell how old Pokémon are by look. She was pretty much just a regular Espeon, other than the fact that she was wearing a custom-made lab coat and square glasses. _I didn't even know that some Pokémon needed glasses,_ I thought to myself.

"You are Keith, right?" She asked. Her voice was a bit deep, but soothing. "As Xera may have told you, my name is Lirrian. At Xera's request, I've privileged the entire clinic just for you. Although I don't normally take off-schedule visitors, I have decided to excuse myself, just this once." I was amazed that Xera had gone to such great lengths to find me help. "Oh, and do forgive my doctor's attire; my trainer made me wear this." I almost burst out laughing, but I held it in.

"Are those glasses also...?" I asked her.

"No, these are real. I need them to see since I'm shortsighted." She replied, grabbing a pen and paper at a nearby desk. "Now tell me, what _exactly_ is your issue? Xera didn't actually clarify that much."

"I've..." I gulped, feeling shaken. "I've been having a lot of nightmares recently..." Lirrian stared at me, as though as she was thinking this was some stupid prank. "I-it's not a prank, I swear! I've been having them ever since I've arrived here, and it's consistent on every single night! I-it's abnormal!"

"Alright then..." Lirrian mumbled, still uncertain. "Do you have any clue to why you're getting them?"

"N-no... the only possibility I can think of is an... outside source..." At those words, Lirrian's interest seem to perk up.

"Fascinating..." She started writting a bit on her piece of paper. "I think the best way to proceed with this is... a test." She looked at me, trying to identify any reluctance in me. "I'm going to need you to go to sleep. From there, I'll use my abilities to be able to determine the source of your dreams, if it's from outside."

Fear shivered through my entire body at the thought of having another horrifying nightmare. "Th-there's no way I can s-sleep..." I spluttered. "I... I..." I wished to say that I was afraid, but that'll just show that I'm nothing but a cowardly weakling who's terrified of a little dream.

"If you can't sleep, then I have something to help you," The Espeon walked over to a fridge in the corner of the room, opened it, and took out a jar. The jar contained purple, glittery gas, swirling around inside. "This is Sleep Powder." She said, walking back towards me. "Of course you would know that this is a move some Pokémon use. I've taken some and preserved it in the fridge for some insomniacs here."

I stared at the swirling gas inside the jar. That would definitely knock me out cold, but do I want to...? I gulped, swallowing down my fear and nodded. "O-okay... let's do it..." I climbed onto a nearby clinic bed and braced myself.

Lirrian carefully twisted open the jar's lid, the opening facing me. The jar then opened, releasing all the gas inside, blowing right at my face. The sweet scent instantly hit my nostrils, calming me, and I felt a bit woozy. I knew that it was working, but I was still afraid, however the drowsiness soon overtook my fear as I slowly plummeted into a deep state of slumber...

...

...

...

...

...

"Where am I?" I asked to no one, having woken up in empty space. Above me, below me, around me, everywhere... it was just empty space; an infinitely vast void. "Hello?" Even though this was empty space, the fact that my voice echoed means that it's not vacuum... I guess...

"L-Lirrian?" I called out, my voice echoing about ten times before it faded. "Are you there?" Again, it echoed, but no response. I was beginning to think that this was a bad idea when a voice caught my attention, one I definitely recognize.

"Keith!" Turning around, I saw her. Lirrian, the Espeon, floating around in the void as well. She waved her arms and legs, swimming toward me. After a while, we were finally facing each other. "Thank goodness, Keith... I was starting to think that my method failed."

I stared at her, bewildered. "M-method?" I looked around us. It was just black, black, and more black. "Where are we?"

"We're in your mind." Lirrian replied in a tone so casual that it took me by surprise. "Using my abilities, I was able to enter your mind while you were still sleeping. This is why I am here. The reason everything is so... empty, is because a dream hasn't formulated yet."

I pondered her words for a moment, trying to process it. "So... how do we get it to 'formulate'?" I asked her.

"You don't. It happens naturally, really. Neither you nor I can control it." She paused for a minute. "All we can do... is wait."

I groaned. Waiting? It sounds like torture! And the entire world is currently a clean slate!

But we waited anyway, since there was nothing else to do.

We waited...

And waited...

And waited...

And waited till what felt like an eternity before finally something happened.

The empty space started to receive color, contorting into various shapes. Soon, a room was slowly starting to form. You could see the cabinets, tables, posters, the floor; the entire place rising from nowhere. While me and Doctor Lirrian were staring awestruck at the bizzare sceen, I suddenly felt something cold clamp on my shoulder.

My heart skipped a beat. I felt the cold fingers gripping tightly, on my shoulder, sending chills down my neck. Before Lirrian knew what was happening. I was suddenly pulled back by some mysterious force. "AAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Keith!" Lirrian yelled. But it was too late, I had vanished.

Being pulled back, it suddenly stopped, and jerked me forward. I screamed even more, until I suddenly felt mountains of pain as I got slammed onto a metal surface. My vision got blurry. I was on a metal table, in that room that we saw earlier. An anonymous hand appeared, attached to no body at all. It was holding a syringe filled with strange blue liquid. I tried to move knowing what was gonna happen, but I couldn't; I was pinned down, somehow. The syringe got closer and closer, as my own heart began thumping louder and louder.

And then...

I felt a sharp pain on the side of my neck. I momentarily stopped breathing, pain spreading all over my body. But I couldn't yell. I went suddenly numb. A moment later, as I slowly regained my senses, I felt another feeling. No... it wasn't really a feeling, but an urge. An urge to hunt. An urge to attack.

An urge to kill.

Looking around the room like a wild animal, I saw her. Lirrian, the Espeon, completely defenseless in the corner of the room. She could only shudder and stammer as she watched me approach her. "M-my god... Wh-what did they d-do to you, K-keith!?" She spluttered. Keh, it was so pleasing watching her crouch in fear. I stepped even closer, claws and teeth ready.

"K-Keith, this isn't funny! S-stop it!" Lirrian went pale at this point, her eyes full of fear, sheer panic. Her legs practically gave way from all that fear. I only laughed, but even I was surprised to hear myself laugh. My own voice sounded joyful, yet sadistic, as though enjoying this moment. It was a voice that did not belong to me, but to another completely different entity.

I stopped just a few feet from her. I watched her panicked expression, that look of despair and hopelessness. I smacked my lips, savouring the moment. All of a sudden, I pounced, paws outstretched, ready to kill her. As I did, time seemed to slow down. I only grinned at Lirrian's gradual change of expression; from fear, to panic, to pure terror. Her stomach slashed open as my claws swiped across.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I gasped, tumbling off the bed with flailing paws. It hurt, but I didn't care. The nightmare... it was worse than I could ever imagine. I was sweating all over, breathing hard. Watching Lirrian's body being slashed open like that in slow-motion... Ugh, it makes me feel ill... "Wait, Lirrian!? Lirrian!"

Lirrian was on the floor, collapsed. A stool lay beside her, probably so she could observe me from greater height. With her belly facing down, I turned her body, making sure she was okay. She was not. Instead, there was a gash at her belly, around seven centimetres in length. I screamed, recoiling. "OH MY GOD! LIRRIAN!" I could only stare at her, numb with fear. _What will the others say if ther hear about this!?_

"Guh..." My ears twitched when I heard the groan. It was Lirrian. She was struggling to get up, gripping the stool for support. "God, this hurts..."

"L-Lirrian!" I rushed over to her, helping her to stand up. But in her condition, she could barely stand, so I told her to sit on the stool. "L-Lirrian..." I croaked, still completely shocked. "A-are you okay?"

The Espeon gave a reassuring smile. "D-don't worry, I'm fine..." She was covering the wound with her lab coat, the white fabric beginning to turn blood red. "A-anyway... about what we're r-really here for..."

"But your wound-!"

"I'll patch that up later," She interrupted. "but about the test results. I-I can definitely say th-that your nightmares a-are _not_ from an outside source."

A moment of silence passed as I took it in. I was both relieved and extremely frightened at the same time. Relieved, because I now know that someone is not deliberately sending me these nightmares, but frightened, because if it's not an outside source, then that means the dreams came from...

"You mean... my dreams come from _myself_? _Naturally_?" I asked.

Lirrian nodded, walking wobbly to a nearby cabinet to get some medical supplies. "Yes. Although, I am uncertain why they happen at such high frequency... I've never encountered such a phenomenon, so I'll need to look into it further." Lirrian and I continued to stare at each other, waiting for the other to do something. "You can go back to your room, if you like."

"O-oh, sorry," I excused myself before going towards the door, but then I stopped. A thought crossed my mind. "H-how did I c-cut you anyway?"

Lirrian looked up, sighing. "It was a subconscious movement. When you slashed me in your dream, your body followed that movement and slashed me in real life. But I find it very curious that that dream movement could cause so much damage..." Lirrian sighed again, put her lab coat aside, and started bandaging herself. Feeling guilty, I ran off to my room without another word.

The next few days were terrible, I was still feeling guilty about what happened to Doctor Lirrian. I was worried about getting caught, but fortunately the event somehow didn't make it to the notice board. I had a sneaking suspiscion that Xera played a part in that. However, it didn't make me any less troubled. I spent the days staying away from everyone, even Arthur.

"Come on, Keith, you've been like this for a few days now!" Arthur complained to me. "What's going on?"

"Sorry, sorry! It's... complicated..." The fact that I was hiding something made the Azumarill even more annoyed at me, but what was I supposed to do? Tell him that I slashed the clinic's nurse and tore her belly? Arthur would never forgive me.

It was like this for the entire week, until one day I decided to rejoin them. _Alright..._ _I'm gonna find Arthur first..._ As I walked down the hallway towards the park, I felt someone tap my shoulder. Thinking that it was probably Spark or Blanch, I turned around... only to get my mouth covered by a hankerchief. I sniffed a familiar scent, and that familiar feeling washed over me, sending me to instantaneous sleep...

...

...

...

When I woke up, I was in a completely different area. An area that I know. An area that I do not wish to be in.

 _The laboratory in my dream a week ago._

It was exactly the same as I remember it. Metallic floor, concrete walls, lockers and cabinets filled with various objects, desks lined with computers and printers, and chemical racks on the wall. Fear coursed throughout my entire body. Sweat began to drip. _If I remember, there was a syringe..._

Looking around, I saw someone wearing a surgeon's uniform filling a syringe with liquid. The sight of it made my eyes bulge. Panicking, I looked around more for a way to get out of here. There was a metal door, but it was blocked by a security officer, and barred with a sliding lock. I can't open that door. Looking around more, I saw a window. Knowing where we are, it might be a one-way window, like in interrogation rooms. I tried to see what was on the other side, but I was too short. Seeing a bunch of paper files, I pulled it toward me and used it as a stool.

When I saw what was on the other side, my jaw dropped.

It was a Minccino. And I know that Minccino. _Adam, my 'nemesis'._ He was in the corner of the room, lookin around frantically. He must be feeling as panicked and afraid as me. Before I could do anything else, I was suddenly pinned down to the table by someone. I gasped as I felt a sharp pain on the side of my neck. I know what it is. And if this _is_ like that dream... then I also know what it does.

Seconds passed, and I was literally thrown into the room Adam was in. The room was padded and soundproofed; if someone screamed, no one would hear it. At first, he seemed relieved to see me, but when he saw my face, that sense of relief vanished.

Dark, cruel, violent, and sadistic. That was my face. I only grinned evily at him, enjoying the look of terror on his face. Finally, I've been waiting for the day to rip him up! Him and his stupid complaints, I've had enough of it! Hehehe, I'm going to _enjoy_ this.

 _No! Stop! Please, this isn't me!_ But the real me, the one trapped inside, was the complete opposite. I had no control over my own body, emotions, or actions. I was like a puppet, only able to do what the puppeteer commands. It was like watching a TV. _I-I don't want to kill him!_

"K-Keith...?" Adam stammered, backing away to the corner. "Wh-what the hell is wr-wrong with your face!? H-hey, wh-what are you gonna do with me?" I sneered at him as I slowly walked toward him, my claws clicking against the floor. Adam started to get unnerved. "L-look, man, I know y-you and I haven't gotten along very well, but –"

"No more buts, Adam," I snickered, gnashing my teeth. "It's about time I've been given this chance!"

Adam went white. "K-K-Keith!?"

I felt my legs stop walking, then I felt them bend. I can tell that I'm about to pounce, lunging for Adam. Although I crave for his death, I didn't want it to be this way. _No! Please! I-I-I... Someone stop me!_ But it was too late, I was too into this. Savoring Adam's petrified look, I sprung and pounced at him.

 _NO!_

He was the last thing I saw.

His scream was the last thing I heard.

His flesh was the last thing I touched.

His blood was the last thing I smelled.

And his meat was the last thing I tasted.


	10. This Suffering of Mine

It was black. Just black. Every sense in my body was numb. Slowly, I started to hear something... words... panicked words...

"Aw shit, dude!" Said a voice. "L-Look what happened!"

"Holy hell, that's some nasty stuff!" Said another voice.

A third voice spoke out, much more panicked than the other two. "Th-that's not the main problem! The boss is gonna kill us now!"

"W-we don't need to tell the boss!" The first man said.

"D-dude, we took someone's Pokémon! Two of 'em! Sooner or later, the boss is gonna find that out!" The second man argued.

A fourth voice, female, suddenly blurted out: "Then we stage it! We'll... make it look like an accident! Say to the boss that the experiment went wrong and that the Pokémon went rogue."

"Y-ya think the boss is gonna believe that!?" The first man yelled.

"D'you have a better idea!? Go make the report!"

 _..._

 _Rogue?_

 _Accident?_

 _Nasty stuff?_

Slowly, I regained all my senses. My hearing told me that all four scientists were busy bickering and yelling about something. My nose told me that the room reeked of blood. _Fresh blood_.

... _Who's blood was it...?_

When my sight finally recovered, I was faced with a horrifying sight.

Adam. Or, what used to be Adam. His entire body had been shredded to pieces, mauled to the bone, mangled beyond recognition. I couldn't even see where his head was supposed to be. All I saw was a messy pool of blood, meat, and fur. My mind went dizzy all of a sudden. _D-did I do this? Did I!?_ _I-I remembered now... that injection... it made me go crazy... lost my mind... And now... Adam's dead._

I glared at the scientists through the one-way window. I knew they were there, even though I couldn't see them. I growled at them, bearing my fangs. An urge was swelling inside me, a cold murderous rage. I heard the scientists scream in pure terror. "OH GOD! It's looking right at us!" I heard them pick up papers and left the room in a hurry.

The rage faded away from me... I turned back to Adam's body.

Adam... I hated him. I hated him so much (though not as much as I hate Blanch), and now he's dead. I've always wished ill toward him, but I never expected... My mind snapped back to Arthur. Arthur... _Arthur will murder me if he knew about this..._ Panic surged through my body as I tried to think of a reasonable explanation, but I can't. I knew, perhaps, my fate had already been sealed the moment I was carried into this room.

I looked down, feeling conflicted. Then, I realized it.

It was like my dream. This whole scenario happened in my session with Doctor Lirrian... where I _killed her..._ where I _killed Adam in the corner..._ But what I was even more surprised by was my reflection in the pool of blood. A Vulpix stared back at me. But it wasn't me; it was some sort of... alternate form of me... Me, with pitch black fur and crystal red eyes, staring right at me like a demon. I heard it cackle, even though its mouth didn't move. It frightened me, terrified me!

I looked away from it immediately. Even though I wasn't looking at it, I could somehow still feel it – that demon – residing inside of me, like a parasite ready to take over.

Well... Adam's dead now... great... What's gonna happen now...?

...

Later that afternoon, Sam was called to Richard's office for 'something seriously important'. My heart sank because I knew what it was about. When Sam came back to the room, he looked different. He slammed down a folder on the table, breathing hard. And then the way he looked at me... his eyes were burning with hate and anger, fists clenching. "What the hell, Vulpix!?" He suddenly screamed at me. "Y-you killed Minccino!?"

The entire room suddenly filled with a dreadful atmosphere. A silent, deathly, unfriendly atmosphere. I felt everyone stare at me in shock and disbelief. I looked up at Sam, as though hoping for forgiveness, but there was none in that face of his. Only betrayal. The others as well. Vivico, Blanch, Spark, Kirlia... Arthur. I shook my head, refusing to accept this reality. _This can't be!_

Sam suddenly stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. It left an uncomfortable feeling hanging in the arir. But slowly, everyone seemed to recover from the shock. Spark spoke up first. "K-Keith... You... killed Adam?" He asked, his voice dry. "H-hey, answer me!"

Blanch gave a low whistle. "Dude... I never thought you would actually do it..."

Vivico shook her head violently in disbelief. "I-Impossible! No matter how much Keith hated Adam, h-he would never-!" Vivico stopped, seeing Arthur glaring at her. Arthur stepped towards me, shock and loathing mixed in his eyes.

"Keith..." He muttered. His voice was soft and weak, but there was a hint of danger to it. "You _actually_ killed Adam? Even after that promise you made?" His eyes began to glimmer with tears. "Why!? Why, Keith, why!?"

"Arthur, let me explain-!"

"SHUT UP!" The words rang out through the entire room like a nuclear bomb. I stared silently at the Azumarill. Tears of anger slid down his face as he grit his teeth. "You... made a promise that day, Keith... That you would finish off this entire ordeal with Adam... and then weeks later you kill him!?" He shook his head, as though still refusing to believe it. "I thought you changed, Keith..." He mumbled, sobbing now. "I thought you meant what you said that day... I thought you really wanted to do it... for the sake of all of us... W-was that just a lie? A lie to hide your hate towards Adam!?"

"Arthur –" But he wouldn't listen to reason. All he saw me as now was a friend who destroyed his trust and took something valuable from him. He didn't even have to say it; none of them have to say it. I can see it in their faces. Their look of disbelief, shock, and of retribution as well. They no longer view me as one of them. _No longer a friend._

After everyone had left – due to the fact that they hate me now – I was alone in the room, reflecting. Most of it was a blur though. My friends and my _best_ friend have just disowned me! They didn't need to say anything to express what they wanted to say. Arthur, if he wanted to say it, he would have yelled at me: "We're no longer friends, Keith! Not after what you've done!" My body shivered, even though it wasn't cold. Only one clear and conscious thought was printed on my mind... " _I've lost everything now._ "

I remembered the scientists... the syringe they stuck into my neck... the savage brutality of Adam's attack... the conversation about falsifying a report... _a report that Sam received_... If they really did fake the contents, it would explain Sam's anger. If he knew the truth, he would have been less mad. Hopping over to the desk, I opened up the folder and read the report.

 _Mr. Richard Trevelton:_

 _We are sorry to say that there has been a tragic accident in the testing labs. One of our subjects (which we have randomly selected and taken this morning), a Vulpix, went rogue, and randomly attacked another subject, a Minccino. It had killed the subject with extreme violence to the point where the corpse was nothing but a pile of flesh and blood. We tried to stop it, but the Vulpix suddenly showed high amount of unforseen power and tried to attack us. However, we managed to detain it until it calmed down. The Vulpix, unfortunately, escaped._

 _We send our apologies to Mr. Trevelton, as well to the trainer(s) that owns both said Pokémon._

I stared at the report in utter disbelief. Although some of the details were correct, the parts on _how_ the attack began was a blatant lie. Complete blasphemy! I saw it! I specifically remembered them injecting a syringe into me! _The syringe._ Whatever was in that syringe filled with... some urge to kill. Testosterome? I've read it in magazines. But I shouldn't have been that crazy...

The report was a lie. Sam was deceived. I was framed. And now everyone hates me.

Wait... If I can explain this to Arthur... Surely he'd understand!

I rushed out of the door, hoping to find him.

But... I think I hoped too much...

I found him. But he didn't want to listen to me; not anymore. "Keith, no... You betrayed my trust, Keith..." Arthur said, his voice shaking. "Deep down I hoped that... you did change, that you wanted to try at least... But know that you've killed Adam... You've crossed a line, Keith."

"Arthur, please, I was framed!" I told him. "You have to believe me! You know that I would never–"

"Yet you _did_ , Keith!" Arthur interrupted. "How am I supposed to believe you now...?"

I didn't answer. That was impossible to respond to. He was right. No matter how hard I try, I can't disprove a formal report written by the clan's scientists. That'd be like a prisoner trying to fight back against his kidnappers who are equipped with cutting-edge weapons. There was just no way. Arthur had shown me that, and he sadly walked away _,_ leaving me to moan.

Soon, the news had spread out through the entire manor. Lirrian and Isabelle confronted me first. "Keith, y-you..." Lirrian the Espeon stared at me. "Even after you saw that vision in your session, you still did it?"

"Th-that can't be true!" Isabelle added in. "Th-there's just no way you would recklessly attack your own friend! You're not that kind of guy, are you?"

"Of course not!" I yelled, upset. "I was framed! That report is false! I was given some sort of injection!"

Lirrian and Isabelle looked at each other, as though unsure what to believe. "I dunno Keith..." Isabelle muttered, thinking hard. "But I do know that Minccinos _are_ normal-types, and that Adam _would_ be taken away for testing, as I've said before about the normal-type Pokémon experimentations. But... you're a _fire-type_. I doubt that they would test on you..."

Lirrian gave consent. "I think so too, yet I find the fact that Keith would murder someone... simply unbelievable..."

Isabelle nodded. "But... nothing we can do about it." She looked at me. "Even if you were thrown under the bus by those scientists, we can't defy them. The report was written by them and no other witnesses. You can't prove your innocence, Keith... I'm sorry... This is why we don't know whether to believe you or not..."

"But you know me!" I said, trying to persuade them. "You know that I wouldn't do this sort of thing, don't you!?"

Lirrian looked away, seeming uncomfortable. "I-I beg to differ, but... we don't know much about you at all; you mainly stay away from everyone..."

I just stared at the two in disbelief. I get that their reasons are acceptable (at the very least) but I just couldn't accept the fact that they won't believe me. They won't, until that report is proven false. That being said, it's absolutely impossible. There's nothing to contradict it, except my word alone. My word alone is not enough. Besides, who would believe me? _I'm on the lower side of the scale now_ , I thought to myself.

What's worse was the despair didn't end there.

Everyone treated me differently now. Sometimes when I pass people they would glance at me suspiciously and whisper things to their friends. They also avoided me during playtime too, which made me feel lonely. I needed someone to help me – but no one did. I tried to persuade people to believe me, that I didn't kill Adam on purpose, but everyone only doubted me. Even if they did believe me, they still view me differently. When I asked Xera the Espurr, it seemed that her morals were also conflicted. It slowly started getting worse. The neglect, the rejection... I think Sam must have felt a high amount of resentment towards me because he stopped feeding me. Even when I begged, he still didn't give me any. Just a tiny pinch, not even enough to satisfy any hunger. The others didn't pity me at all.

Days passed, and I fell into a much deeper hole than I thought. The longer this entire thing went, the deeper the hole seemed to sink. Sam no longer fed me. Some others gave me a tiny bit of their leftovers, but nothing more. The hunger was consuming me, much to the irony. It brought me pain. The longer I resisted, the more it hurt. The more it hurt, the more I tried to resist, which in turn brought it more pain. It's a slow, painful climb up the ladder of torture. Perhaps the worst part is that you have to do it _all by yourself_. All by _myself_. I pray that it would get better. It never did.

In order to escape this pain, I resorted to certain methods. I swam laps and laps in the swimming pool, my entire body burning from the water. I ran around and around the entire track field, feeling my muscles ache and strain under the excessive work. However... this pain that I inflict upon myself is merely to wash away the pain that had already existed inside me. It takes one pain to erase another pain.

I didn't care anymore, I don't want to be forgotten... yet I already am. These people have decided to ignore me and leave me be. Only my torture erased me of that pain. Laps and laps and laps I run, even till I collapse in the pouring rain. But I never stop. All of my limbs continue to scream in protest as I push onward, and I still don't stop – just to escape pain. Occasionally I cry, regretting everything that I did. I wished I could have given Arthur the friend that he wanted...

Every time I suffer, I run. Every time I felt alone, I run. I forced my body to endure this just to forget everything.

But... everyone has their limit. I was no exception.

Soon... It was just too much to me. The rejection, the loneliness, the suffering and torment... I had enough. So I made a decision. Since no one wants me here... then I'll just leave. No one would care; not that they think I'm a murderer now. Not one person who cared about me deeply loved me now... Spark, Vivico, the rest... _Arthur_... God, thinking of Arthur only brought me more pain. _I need to forget it,_ I thought to myself, slamming my fist to the wall. _None of this matters anymore!_

It was a stormy evening that day. Everyone stayed indoors and chatted around. Work continued like always. By now I've gotten used to it, but I know that everyone here sees me differently. I... haven't changed at all. That's absolutely true... but I feel like... I've been turning. That my stuffed up emotions are building towards something dark... Something that occasionally overtook me... Something... _evil..._

I shook my head. "Now is not the time to dwell on that..." I mumbled to myself, clutching my paw close to my chest. "I'm going to leave. I'm going to leave my life." As I stepped towards the ajar front door, I felt someone tap my shoulder. Spinning around, I saw that it was Xera the Espurr. "Oh... what are you doing here, Xera? Something you need?"

She didn't say anything, as I expected. I'm pretty sure she's mute. She gave a curious little stare at me, looking between me and the door. I knew what she meant; Doctor Lirrian gave me a short rundown on how to read minor body languages like this. "I'm just going outside." I replied. Judging by her sarcastic-looking stare, I sighed. "Really, I'm only going for a walk."

Xera wasn't fooled. She crossed her arms and pouted a bit. I chuckled a bit, even though it wasn't appropriate. "Fine, you win... Yes, I'm leaving this place. I'm leaving this wretched hellhole that has refused to accept me... I am no longer welcome here, Xera. Surely you see that?" I pointed to everyone in the room. "None of them, Xera. None of them accept me, not even my own trainer, Sam. All because of a stupid incident in which I had no control of my body!" I turned to her, locking eyes with her. "You believe me, right?"

Xera only gave me a casual expressionless stare. _I guess that means she doesn't have a reply..._ "You see? I've made my point. Now... just let me leave... I won't bother you guys anymore..." Xera continued to stare at me until she finally nodded, shaking my hand before leaving me at the main hall. I only watched her walk around the corner and disappear from sight. _I'll never truly understand her..._ I mused to myself, trying to cheer myself up.

I burst through those large doors and ran. I ran and ran and ran and ran and kept on running. All that 'training' may have helped improve my agility, but it certainly didn't help supressing my guilt. After the torture, that pain of rejection only resurfaced like a predator that never gives up. _None of it matters anymore..._ I thought to myself, tearing up a bit. _It'll be okay... I'll escape this pain and continue living my life..._ But I knew deep down that that pain would never go away.

I ran all the way out of Jubilife City, into the woods, and through the woods until I reached a large lake. My arms and legs gave way, letting myself fall onto the grass. Rain started to come down; rather heavily actually. An air of melancholy seemed to envelop me as I pondered about what I should do next. _What should I do? I just escaped my trainer and abandoned all my 'friends'... What else is there for me..._ I groaned, feeling exhausted from all this. _I wish... it could all just end... the suffering, the torture... I don't want to deal with it anymore... I wanna be in peace... peace..._

Almost mechanically, I stood back up again, and jumped into the lake. The water felt cold and hot at the same time. I swam across the water, paddling. Up and down, up and down, repeat and repeat... Until I stopped in the middle. My head was bobbing up and down on the surface of the lake. I sighed. _This life... is such a pain... I don't want to feel this way anymore... This nuisance, this trouble, this agony! Let it end already!_ I started to cry, letting my tears mix with the raindrops. _I'm so weak... so pathetic... so puny... Unfit for life..._

Then... I knew what I had to do.

A voice within me told to do it.

 _End your suffering. End your life._

That's when I chose a peaceful death over a harsh life.

I ducked under the surface, completely submerged in water. Using my paws I swam deeper and deeper into the lake, the world around me going black. The water... felt so peaceful... So calm and silent... It's like a graveyard, but without the fear factor... How peaceful it is down here... I could die here alright, I don't mind, as long as it ends my pain...

I must have swum pretty far down, because by the time I realized it, it was almost pitch black. Just a little bit of blue hue remaining in this level. I tucked my body into a ball, savoring my last moments. Although people say that drowning is one of the worst ways to die because of how slow it is, I find this scene I'm in... soothing... The entire universe has suddenly become silent. The cool touch of the water made me relax as I start to lose oxygen...

I waited and waited. Minutes pass, and I still wait for death to come. By now I should've have died, but my lungs still have a bit of air left in them. But when I felt that I could no longer breathe, I closed my eyes in relief. I felt it; that slow pull, dragging my soul out of my body. The voice inside me whispered into my ears... _This is it... the end... No more suffering, ignorance, loneliness, any of that!_ I nodded solemnly in agreement. Yes... peace... true peace awaits me...

Even as my lungs strain for air, I didn't waver. I welcome you, darkness... Take me in your arms and bring me into the depths... I felt my consciousness fade, all my senses going numb again... I laughed, somehow, under the water, though it only came out as gargles. Funny, and just weeks ago I was so pumped to live... I thought of Spark, Kirlia, Xera, Lirrian, Arthur, Sam, and everyone back there. Although I pity some of them, maybe it's for a best... I would only be a burden to them...

Finally, I close my eyes and wait, my entire body feeling as light as a feather...


	11. I'm Alive?

"..."

"..."

"...Huh..?"

My eyes opened, quickly shutting back again. It was so bright. I reopened them, slowly. Light was shining down on me through a large hole that points to the sky. I felt pointy grass underneath me scratching my body. "...Where am I?" I was surprised by my own voice. It was so quiet and dry, as though I hadn't spoken for days... has it been days?

My muscles felt sore. I tried to move but I barely did anything. It's like I haven't moved for so long my joints locked-up and muscles went limp. I could move my head properly at least. I craned my neck forward, trying to see what's in front of me.

It was a grassy field, but it was surrounded by a huge rock wall that circled the entire area and goes up all the way to the top centre, like a cone, but with a giant hole in the middle. The light coming through seems to be the only light source. It's like a volcano had dried and greenery had grown inside. There was also... furniture? Spread throughout the little cove were small tables, chairs, wardrobes, and more. _Does someone live here?_ I thought to myself.

My ears twitched at a noise behind me. It sounded like conversation. I tried to look but my head couldn't turn that far. I heard a young male voice speak up. "How long are we gonna keep him here anyway?"

"Until he wakes up, at the very least." A calm, female voice replied. It was a bit deep too.

"I really hope he wakes up soon," A different female spoke. It was a regular female voice, nothing distinguishable about it. "he's been out for, what, like – three days?"

"Three days..." I whispered to myself, although I barely even heard it. Have I been unconscious for that long? I tried to remember what happened... Slowly, the memories resurfaced... The injection... the killing... the report... the betrayal... the pain... the lake... "The lake," I repeated, suddenly realising something. "H-how did I survive?"

There was a sudden silence from the conversation at the back. Only the wind coming through the hole above made noise. A full minute passed before the young male spoke again. "I think he's awake," He muttered.

"Go check on him." The deep female voice instructed.

There weren't any footsteps, but the Pokémon was right beside me in a few seconds. I couldn't believe my eyes. That blue colour, those two thin tails, those red gems, those gleaming golden eyes... Could it be? In barely a whisper I asked. "A-an... Azelf?"

The Pokémon nodded. "Can you get up?" He asked. I tried, but I was too weak and simply fell back to the ground. Great. Now I _really_ am nothing. Azelf seemed worried. The regular female voice shouted at him: "He needs water!" Azelf seemed to understand, and left my line of vision. A few seconds later, he came back with a bowl of water. "Can you drink?" He asked gently?"

The bowl looks so close and that water was emanating such a thirst-fulfilling aura. However, I knew that I would need to exert the rest of my remaining strength to even drink it. I turned by body to my side – with great difficulty – and put my lips in the water. It tasted like heaven! Probably because I haven't drank in three days. The Azelf told me to drink in slow sips instead of gulping it down, so I did that too. I managed to recover some of my strength. "Th-thank you," I gasped weakly. Azelf just smiled.

I turned my head to the other two Pokémon. Now I was really surprised. It was the rest of the Lake Trio; Uxie and Mesprit. The two were coming over here, by hovering of course. "You're awake," the Uxie said in that calm, steady voice of hers. "you've been unconscious for three days."

"We had no idea why," the Mesprit joined in. "but Azelf said he found you at Lake Valor. You were drowning."

 _Lake Valor? But that's all the way across the region,_ I thought to myself. _Did I really run that far? And Azelf saved me?_ That feeling of despair ran through my body again. I still remembered. That pain and suffering and agony and I now wished that Azelf didn't save me. But what is to blame about someone who wanted to save a drowning Pokémon. Still, I wished that he hadn't...

"You were lucky." The Mesprit continued. "Azelf would normally be exploring at the time, but he decided to relax at the lake." I grunted. More like unlucky...

"Where am I?" I asked, getting up on my legs again. It's been so long since I stood up as well. My knees felt like jelly.

"We call this place Bleak Cove." Azelf answered. "Well, this place isn't bleak anymore since we decorated it, but we kept the name. Does it look good?" He gave himself a little smile. He's definitely one of those happy-go-lucky guys. I'm a bit jealous now of his untroubled attitude at the situation. You find a passed out Pokémon, he just wakes up and is confused, and still be carefree... I wish I could be like that...

"We'll give you some space now if you like." Uxie said. "Do you need to be accompanied? Azelf can handle that, he's the cheerful type." Azelf seemed insulted by that, but didn't say a word... or none that the others can hear anyway. It happened again, a voice that seemed to belonged to someone but the person didn't even move his mouth. I heard "Why do I have to take care of him just because of my personality!? You guys are way more responsible than I am."

I nodded. "Sure, I don't mind..." Uxie and Mesprit smiled thankfully and flew away to the back of the cove. Me and Azelf looked at each other now. None of us said a word. It got pretty awkward. Like, very awkward. I waited for him to say something, but I think he's also waiting for me to ask something first.

 _Please say something!_

"Huh?" He suddenly gasped, looking around. It was as though he had spaced out and just snapped back to reality. "Oh, sorry, er... Why don't we walk around for a while? You haven't been moving much so I think you should get your muscles flexing again."

I was a bit confused on why he reacted like that, but I didn't mind. I agreed with him and decided to walk around a bit.

It felt so good (and painful) to walk again. I haven't walked in ages! The breeze blowing, the prickly grass, the crumbly dirt, and the smell of greenery brought joy to my mind. It felt like peace, like the time I was sinking in the water. So peaceful that you'd probably forget everything about life and embrace what's happening now...

Azelf then took me to a nearby pond as a place to chat. It was a fairly small pond, located at one of the sides of the cove. The water glowed a deep blue colour because it was slightly dark there. That gave it a rather deathly feeling though. The water remained completely still and unmoving. How abnormal, not even a ripple...

Looking down at my reflection, I saw it, but I wasn't surprised. That black-furred Vulpix, those red piercing eyes glaring right at me. I saw it give me a smirk before I blinked and it turned back into my regular reflection. I figured that it's supposed to be how I view myself now: a monster. That's probably it; I'm a guilt-ridden monster!

Azelf noticed me looking strangely at the water. "Hey, you okay?" He asked, shaking me by the shoulder. I snapped out of my thinking. "You spaced out just now." He paused, tiliting his head a little. He looked curiously at me. "Why are you crying?"

"What?" Bringing my paw to my face, I realized that there really were tears streaming down my face. "O-oh, sorry – I didn't realize that..." I sighed, knowing that it was a pitiful and frustrating situation. "I just... bad memories, you know?"

Azelf didn't say anything, so I asked him a question. "What's your name?"

"Merlot." He answered simply. "A close friend of mine gave me that name because of my taste for wine. Merlot is a variety of wine a lot of rich trainers like to drink sometimes." I sensed a bit of sadness in his words, but I ignored it. "Hey, I don't think I got your name either...?"

"It's Keith." I said. Huh, Keith... I suddenly miss Arthur calling my name. Adam's teasing too... life suddenly got boring without him. "Do the other two have names?" I asked Merlot.

Merlot winced for some reason. "Well, Mesprit's name is Canberra, while Uxie's name is Iwes. Both names were given by the same person who gave me the name Merlot." He stared somberly at the lake. "I miss her..."

"Sorry?" I asked, confused.

"Nothing." The Azelf shook his head, forcing a smile. "I wanna ask you something. How'd you end up in the lake? You're a fire-type you know? If the water didn't knock you unconscious then you would have most certainly drowned."

I didn't say anything. I didn't wish to recall anything that happened beforehand. The pain was simply too much. Another tear slid down my cheek as I thought about Arthur. He's never been that upset before... and I had broken his trust so badly... Merlot continued to wait for my response. I gulped, breaking out a sweat. "I-I'd rather not talk about it..."

"But Uxie told me to –"

"I said I don't want to talk about it," I repeated sternly. "I don't want to remember..." I stared at the lake again, expecting to see that evil shadow of mine. Instead, it was just me, a sad miserable Vulpix with blue eyes. Arthur loved the colour of my eyes... Stupid scientists... I wish that I never left my room in the first place...

"If you don't want to talk about it, then hold my hand." Merlot said. I turned my head quickly at him, thinking I misheard him. "You heard me: hold my hand." Reluctantly, I placed my paw on top of Merlot's hand. One of his tails wrapped around, gently tying our hands together. Merlot sat quiet for a few minutes. Thinking that he was daydreaming, I was about to speak when he suddenly said: "You wanted to commit suicide?"

I stared at him, baffled. How'd he know? Then I remembered Kirlia, who sometimes read my thoughts. "Are you reading my mind?" I asked him.

"Mmm, it's more like reading your memories," Merlot answered, looking directly at me. "Hey, I just noticed that you have blue eyes. Kinda cool actually." His statement made my heart ache. He's reminding me of so many painful memories right now... "Ah, sorry, you don't like me complimenting about that?" He quickly responded to my change of emotion.

"No, no, it's fine," I mumbled, trying not to hurt his feelings. "Did those two asked you to read my memories?" I asked, looking at Uxie and Mesprit, who were still discussing in the corner.

"Yeah, they wanted to me know what you're like. Plus, I'm kinda boyish, so I'll relate better to you than them."

"There's _no way_ you'll be able to relate to what I've been through." I whispered, chuckling at nothing. "You're probably much older than me, but you've never experienced what suffering I experienced."

Merlot said nothing for a full minute before his expression changed from a smile to a grim. "I see what you mean," I whispereed back, now knowing what hell I've gone through. "It... must have been painful. It was something you didn't intend to do, right?"

I was silent for a moment, suddenly enlightened by what he said. "Y-you believe that I didn't kill Adam?"

Merlot nodded. "Not intentionally anyway. Memories don't lie, unless you fake them. But I'm pretty sure those grotesque things you saw and did weren't faked. My friend taught me how to differenciate them." I smiled, finally happy that someone believed me fully. But then I frowned, regretting that I hadn't asked any of the psychics back at the mansion to read my memories. The situation might have ended up better.

"H-hey," I started, "you keep mentioning 'a friend' of yours. Who is he? Or she?"

He kept silent, seeming to gaze into the distance. "She was a close friend." He sighed at last. "She taught me a lot of things. Helped me become a better Azelf. I miss her... We all do." The way he miserably said that most likely implied that his friend had passed away.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I told him, gripping his hand firmly. "Do you mind telling me about her?"

Merlot unwrapped his tail and let go of my paw. He rubbed his hands uncomfortably. "Nng, I don't know... But I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you about her. She was a great person." He smiled at the nostalgia. "She called herself Delphy. She was a Mew."

"A-a Mew!?" I blurted out in shock. But... that's the Legend Hunters' main goal... If Mew is dead then...

"Yeah, she was a Mew," Merlot continued on. "and a great one at that. She could heal others, protect them, console them, and be a great friend." Merlot's smile faded. "She was so wonderful... So, so wonderful... We all liked her, but then... _it_ happened."

"Wh-what happened?" I asked shakily, afraid of the answer. "D-did she...?"

Merlot sighed. "Yes. She died. But not in an accident. She got murdered."

The words rang in my ears while the entire cove went silent. _Murder!?_ Like, getting killed by someone else? "H-how is that even possible!?" I accidentally yelled, but then quickly lowering my voice to a hush. "I-I thought Pokémon like you were immortal!"

"Oh, we're not immortal." Merlot replied. "In fact, I'm living proof of that. I'm only 35 years old. The other one passed away already. You people just think we're immortal because you don't see us that much, let alone dying in front of you. We can get sick, hurt, and die, just like the rest of you... and... we can get murdered too."

"She died a slow, painful death..." Merlot gripped at the grass under his hands, shuddering. "There were hunters. People who wanted to get her so badly they tried everything. One day, a few years ago... she got shot with a poison dart during an escape from them. Poison so powerful that none of us could heal it. Those hunters didn't even develop a cure either, just because they were so desperate that even her corpse was fine... S-she stayed at a place we offered her, and we kept telling her that it would be okay... But... I think she already knew that... she wouldn't make it. I think she came to terms with that..."

I just stared sadly at him. The way he expressed how nice this Delphy was... She must've been a great person. An amazing friend. Some friends are so nice you feel like they're the best thing in the world, and Delphy seems to be one of them. For her to die in such a sad and cruel way... I felt pitiful for Merlot and the others. "I'm sorry," I told him. "I shouldn't have asked."

Merlot shook his head dismissively. "No, it's fine. Curiosity is a common trait we all share." Azelf stared into the water, swirling it around with his tails. "That's what she told me. She always had something to say about everything." He sighed, stopping his tails' movements and bent over to drink the water.

A thought crossed my mind when he mentioned the Mew's death. "H-hey, I apologize for asking, but... you said that the 'other you' died already, right?" Merlot gulped down his water and nodded. "S-so, shouldn't there also be another Mew by now?"

"It's a problem that we've been trying to solve – we can't find the new Mew." I just stared at him in disbelief. They can't find the new Mew? "We've been searching across all seven regions; from Kanto to Sinnoh to Alola. We even searched the Orange and Decolore Isles! But it's like the new Mew never existed... maybe the flow has stopped..."

I sat in contemplation for a while. The mythical Pokémon Mew was the main goal of the Legend Hunters. Does that mean they were the same hunters who killed her? No, that wouldn't make sense. They're not that crazy, are they? Then again, they _did_ experiment on me, so... It's possible that they did kill Mew, but then they covered it up and lied to the boss, Richard? I shook my head, feeling ridiculous. That's stupid. I'm just drawing conclusions from being with that dumb group...

Merlot and I continued to hang out for the rest of the day. Canberra and Iwes were still talking, not sure what they could be discussing that it took so long. Merlot offered to take me up through the cove's ceiling hole and show me the view. Although I was hesitant by the fact that he would probably fly me up there, I agreed anyway.

"The view's amazing up here, you know?" The Azelf said, lowering my body slowly back on the ground when we reached the top. "It's one of the reasons I come here a lot." Looking around, I realized that he was absolutely right. The view was beautiful! There were trees everywhere at the bottom, but there were huge mountains in the distance, creating a magnificent landscape. Over to the right the sun was beginning to set, its reflection shown clearly on the surface of the lake below.

"That's Lake Valor," Merlot told me. "that's where I normally live. Bleak Cove is just a hangout spot. I normally sleep at the deepest part of the lake." He sat quietly for a moment, enjoying the view. I took my time and enjoyed it too. The breeze blew quietly through my fur as I sat down and closed my eyes. _It feels so peaceful right now, such a different atmosphere from the mansion... All that stress is gone... But... I feel so empty now, like I'm missing an important part of my life..._

"By the way, I wanted to ask you something." Merlot began, clearing his throat. "I know that you went to the lake. But what surprised me was how deep you had gone. You had almost reached the bottom! Without drowning! And you're a fire-type! That's not something that a regular Vulpix could achieve. How did you even survive swimming?"

I laughed a bit at the remark. Arthur would be so proud of me right now – if he still cared. "A friend of mine, an Azumarill, taught me how to resist the pain of water." I explained to him, thinking of all those lessons back in the rapids. "I must have did it at least more than a hundred times before I got used to it. Eventually it came to the point where I could swim or dive under."

Merlot seemed rather impressed. "Wow, your friend must really care for you if they helped you that much." He chirped. I sighed, wishing that Arthur still did. If only it was like back then... Everything seemed so simple back then... All we did was just play and live, and now... I wish that it would just go back to the way it was before, when I was still joyful and Arthur still cared for me... If only...

"Are you worried about that Azumarill friend of yours?" Merlot suddenly asked. I snapped my head at him, surprised. "You had a sort of melancholic look on your face. You still miss him even after that incident of yours? I thought he... rejected you." He was trying to word it properly to not upset me, but there wasn't a very good replacement for that.

"I guess... Deep down, I wish that none of that had happenned..." I said quietly, staring off at the distance. Several Tailow squawked noisily up above. It was starting to get cloudy. "I wish... I wish that I never killed Adam... M-maybe I could have resisted the effects or the drug, or, or –" Tears began to slip down my face as I struggled to speak. "I just... wanted it to go back to the way it was before... before all t-this madness. Like back the time when we were just young children and played by the riverside. I want to start over with him again... Heh, but that'll never happen..."

Merlot looked like he wanted to say something, but he resisted and kept his mouth shut. He let out a long yawn, stretching his arms and legs. "I'm tired. I'm gonna go back to Lake Valor. Do you want me to carry you back down?"

"Nah. I think I'm gonna... enjoy the view for a while..." I replied absent-mindedly.

"O-okay then. Enjoy it~" He flew off towards the lake. I saw the tiny dot of his body plunge into the lake's surface. Looks like he's probably not gonna be coming soon, or maybe tomorrow.

I thought about Arthur and the rest of my gang. I wonder how they're doing without me...

...

...

...

Meanwhile, at the Legend Hunters' mansion, Arthur the Azumarill was frantically walking around the main hall. He had been searching everywhere for his friend, Keith the Vulpix, but with no luck. After losing contact from him for days, Arthur finally decided to talk to him one last time. However, he seems to have disappeared. At first, he thought Keith was avoiding him, but if that was the case, he must've been a very good hider.

While looking for Keith, Arthur bumped into Xera, the Espurr. "Ah, Xera, good timing." Arthur said. "Have you seen Keith?" The normally stoic Espurr gave a flinch, which made Arthur suspicious. "Xera, where is he? I need to talk to him one more time." He repeated.

Xera took out her notebook and pen that she normally writes down on to communicate. It showed two horrifying words written there: _He left_. "What do you mean he left?" Arthur yelled in disbelief. "Seriously, where is he?" Xera wrote down several words. They contained the exact same message: _He left the mansion._ Still not accepting it, Xera wrote down another sentence. A more convincing one: _He told me that he wanted to leave. I think he did._

"Th-that's not..." Arthur stammered. His body was shaking. His breathing was heavy. "But... we're friends..."

Keith... left?

Of course he left, Arthur thought. He hadn't given any attention to Keith at all.

It was his fault.

All his fault

Arthur's scream resounded through the entire building. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

...

...


	12. My Resolution

It's been a few days since I've been saved and settled at Bleak Cove. Life was rather... plain there. Almost boring.

Canberra and Iwes always seem rather preoccupied. Whenever I tried to talk to them, they often answer shortly. I always see them discussing something, which I can only assume is about me, though I'm not sure why they'd talk about me. My guess is that Merlot is telling the two what he knows about me.

Merlot, on the other hand, always seems cheerful and free-going. He's the group joke teller and comedian – to which Canberra and Iwes seem to hate – also being quite a chatty person. Every now and then he would try to persuade me to tell me more about myself, but I would always deny. I hated talking about myself. Strangely, he seems almost _too_ eager to find out more about me. One time, I caught him holding my hand in my sleep, trying to read my memories. How much he knew, I don't know, but I do know that he tells it to Iwes and Canberra.

"Do you still miss Arthur?" He asked me one time.

"...Sort of." I replied to him, rather irritated by his constant questions.

"Don't you want to see him again?"

"I told you I don't want to."

"Why not?" He asked, tilting his head a little.

I scoffed and looked away from him. "What would be the point? Not like he'd accept me ever again."

"You don't know that." The incessant questioning was beginning to get on my last nerve.

I gave a sarcastic, almost delirious laugh. "Well... Even if he _did_ forgive me, no good would come from it. What about the others? What about my _trainer_!?"

"At least you'd have Arthur..."

"Just shut up Merlot!"

That was the last conversation we had, just last night. I wonder if he'll continue to pester me with the same question the next day or two. After that, I simply asked me to pick me up and bring me to the top of Bleak Cove, where I told him I wanted to sleep.

I had always slept down below, on the grass, but this time I slept on top of the cavern, at the edge. It was rocky and dusty, sure, but I had privacy at least... if they don't fly up here. I was nuzzling comfortably in my tails, snoring, when my ears flicked. I thought I heard a noise. No, it sounded more like yelling and screaming.

Waking up, I groaned. "Grh... What are they yelling at each other now..." Walking a bit, I peered down below. The cavern was dim of light as always, plus it was still at daybreak. The wind blew through my fur and into the cavern, giving me shivers. I saw the Lake Trio; Canberra, Iwes, and Merlot, at the far side of the cove. They seem to be arguing about something. I tried to hear them, even bending my body forward, but they were just too far. But I didn't want to give up, I had enough of being left in the dark.

I closed my eyes, trying to focus. Directing my ears towards the voices, I did my best to make out words from the faint noise, but no avail. I continued to try. A minute later, and I still couldn't tell what they're saying. Just then, a weird sensation overpowered me.

A tingle went up both my ears. It felt like my ears suddenly turned to water. Strangely, I felt that they slowly elongated, streching upwards with every passing second. Shivers went down my ears. I didn't dare open my eyes. Soon enough, the feeling stopped, but my ears just didn't feel normal... What's even stranger is, I could suddenly hear more clearly now: the chirping of the Tailow in the sky felt much closer, the sound of the wind was louder, and I could hear several bug Pokémon buzzing down in the forest. Still not opening my eyes, I tried to listen again to the Lake Trio's conversation. Their voices were crystal clear now.

"So... he's... _no..._ " That was Canberra's voice. Her voice was shaky, as if terrified by something. "That's not possible!"

"And yet, his aura matches." That was Iwes's voice, calm as ever. "He _has_ to be."

"We don't know for sure, Uxie!" That was Merlot's voice. He sounded just as unsteady as Canberra. "H-he can't be..."

"Why would you say that?" Iwes responded.

"Because h-he... he..." There was a long pause before Merlot finally picked up again. "We've tried to find the new Mew for years! A-and, he's just _here_ now!?"

'The new Mew?' I thought to myself. What did that mean? Were they talking about me?

"No, that's impossible..." I whispered to myself. I thought back to the past, long ago. I am a hundered percent sure that I was born as a Vulpix. I came out of that egg as a Vulpix. Although... my parents? I found them dead at the black market, being sold for fur a year later. I shook my head, thinking there was something strange about that. That didn't make sense; I've never even seen my parents... So how did I know it was them?

Strange things were going on with me recently... My reflection in the mirror moving a bit, hearing words that were not said, people reacting strangely around me, that note that I supposedly wrote back at the apartment...

Could it be...?

"Anyway, Merlot, I want you to find out more about him," Iwes said. Dammit, I hadn't been paying attention! I missed a bit of conversation. "this is crucial. We finally might be able to confirm our suspiscion." She continued.

"So... you want me to..." Merlot murmured quietly.

Now the three of them were huddled up together, whispering. I couldn't hear them anymore, just faint noises. I leaned closer to hear what they're saying... but then my front paw slipped.

"UWAAAAAAH!"

Before I knew it, I plunged sideways into the lake's cold water below. The shock of it made me swallow some water. Water gushed into my mouth, nose, and ears. The entire world seemed to swirl around me, and I felt like I was going to black out. 'No, come on, don't faint!' I screamed in my head. It took sheer will not to pass out from the pain I felt from hitting the lake's surface.

Funnily enough, amidst all that, I managed to somehow feel a slight tingle go down my ears. Soon enough, the feeling stopped, and my ears felt normal again. I ignored that sensation. I regained control of my body and swam upwards. I had sunk rather deeply, about three meters. The moment my face broke the surface, I gasped for air, but not before choking and coughing up the water I swallowed. It felt so good to breathe again...

"Hey, are you alright?" Looking to my left, I saw Merlot. He seemed rather worried. He flew towards me, picked me up, and brought me back to dry land. I shook my body vigorously, shaking water off my fur. "How'd you fall down?" He asked, looking up at where I had been sleeping earlier. "Did you slip?"

It was only a part of the truth, but the truth nonetheless, so I nodded.

"Well, be more careful next time." Canberra scolded. "You could have died!"

"But he didn't, Mesprit." Iwes interrupted her, smiling softly. "He's _perfectly_ alive."

Canberra and Merlot stared at her, but their eyes widen at the realization of Iwes's words. "Y-you can't be serious..." Canberra muttered under her breath. "Uxie, look here..." She then grabbed Iwes by the shoulder and dragged her away, far from earshot. Merlot didn't follow, he just stayed with me.

I stared at him, confused and baffled. "What in the world have you three been talking about?" I asked him. It was rather tiring trying to figure things out.

The young Azelf shook his head, refusing to answer. "It's... important. Legendary-Mythical Pokémon business. You wouldn't understand." He gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, it has nothing to do with you."

I was about to ask him about the 'new Mew', but then it seemed like a very foolish question to ask. If I ask that, then he would know that I at the very least heard a bit of their conversation. I didn't want to alarm him or the others, so I kept my mouth shut. I gave him a reluctant smile and a frustrated sigh. "So... What now?"

"I dunno." He said, shrugging his shoulders. He did a small backflip while he was hovering, goofing around. "Maybe get some food. Mesprit's prepared some cereal already."

"C-cereal?"

"Don't ask." Merlot laughed. "She knows how to cook stuff out of her foraging."

Sighing tiredly, I approached the table (which is simply a large tree stump) and ate some cereal. How it was made, I don't know, but it was pretty good for something made out stuff in the forest. I looked over at Merlot and the others. They all seem to be seperated, pondering something. A shiver down my back told me they were thinking about _me_. 'Maybe I should ask Merlot just a little bit..." I thought to myself. Making my resolve, I walked towards him when suddenly –

I stopped. There was a strange sensation... A tiny tingling on the back of my head, no, inside my brain. It was like buzzing, drilling, boring, tapping; all at the same time, all of them minute feelings. I thought it was just a bug, so I scratched the back of my head, but it didn't stop, then –

" _Keith_ "

I screamed and jumped back a little. Looking around frantically, I saw that no one noticed, but also that no one was beside me either. If so, who said that...?

" _Keith, can you hear me?_ "

The voice sent chills down my spine. I breathed in a few time, calming myself down. That voice... Where did I hear that voice before... It's so familiar, it's at the tip of my tongue, come on...!

"Xera?" I gasped, finally remembering her voice. It was the Espurr from back at the Legend Hunters's guild! She had never ever spoken before and she had always used some form of body language, but I didn't know she could do telepathy! "Xera, how are you reaching me, and how come you know telepathy!?" I asked angrily, keeping my voice as low as possible.

" _First off, I've known telepathy for a long time,_ " She responded, her voice echoing in my head. " _it's just that I've never used it in the guild. I... apologize for that. Now, about how I'm able to reach you: telepathy locks onto a person's psychic resonance, or aura, as the Lucarios at the guild call it. I've picked up yours since the day we met. What's strange is that, your aura is... unique, I guess. That's how I was able to get to you._ "

"Xera... You believed that I didn't kill Adam, right?" I asked, my voice shaking with rage.

" _...Even now, I'm not sure... But I think so._ "

" _THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL THE OTHERS!?_ " I screamed inside my head, hoping that she'll hear that. " _WHY DID YOU KEEP SILENT!?_ "

There was a long pause on the other line until she spoke up again. " _Keith, I'm sorry, but no one would believe me. Would they belive me, a Psychic-type Pokémon relaying the truth, or the 'accident' report, that is official and acknowledged by the clan leader?_ " I stayed silent for a while. She was right; we couldn't have won anyway. " _Judging by your silence, it appears that I am correct._ " She added.

"Y-you could've at least tried..." I mumbled, trying to sound as normal as possible.

" _I did, Keith. With Arthur._ " The mention of Arthur's name made me snap myself awake. " _When I told him so, he believed it. You had gone away – something you wouldn't had done if you did killed Adam. That was why he believed._ "

"So... Arthur believes me..." It was so weird... Arthur finally believes my innocence, and yet I don't feel anything; no happiness, no relief, nothing. Maybe... I had finally gotten over Arthur. The thought was both miserable and relieving.

" _Keith, Arthur wants you back._ " Her words made me stop. " _He wants you back. He misses you._ "

I thought about it for a moment. I reminiscinced all the times I've spent with Arthur at the river, the beach, the manor, the apartment, and everywhere we've been. Somehow I feel disconnected from all that. The incident must have forced to let go of Arthur. But he's my best friend! How could I have let him go? Conflicted, I slammed my fist onto the dirt. Why don't I feel sad for Arthur? Why don't I feel any guilt? Why don't I want to mend everything back?

I thought even more. My lack of emotion... It's back... Just weeks ago I wanted to savour my every moment with Arthur and the rest, and now I want to leave it all behind... Why? _Why!?_ Why can't I feel a damn thing!? Why can't I just _pick_ something and get it over with!?

If I went back to Arthur... Surely he'll be happy, but I'm not sure about myself. The incident tore me apart. It made me want to die. Would I want to come back to Arthur in that state? Then he won't be happy and all, in fact he might get sadder. Plus, everyone else hates me, blames me for the death of Adam, even Sam... There aren't many Psychic-types back at the clan, only a handful, and most likely barely any of them know memory reading. Considering the best possible outcome, let's consider a few of them can... If they find out the truth, surely they'll tell the others. The Pokémon there will acknowledge it and I'm not convicted guilty anymore. Maybe they can even tell the humans with telepathy. That would be wonderful.

The worst possible outcome? Nothing works out and I'm hated forever.

The risk of the worst possible outcome was bigger than the best possible one...

"...I'd love to Xera, but..." I gave a long, depressed sigh. "Life won't be the same."

" _You'd have Arthur, at the very least. Even in the worst possible outcome._ " Xera replied. I knew she would say something like that, so I prepared a counterargument.

"Xera, you don't understand. If I come back and Arthur's by my side, then everyone will hate him too. The impact on me will transfer to him as well. I can't give Arthur that life."

" _But –"_

"The risk is too great Xera. I... I'm gonna start fresh. Make a new life. And... I'll see you later once the storm has settled, maybe a few more years?"

" _Keith, don't be irrasional! You have to –"_

"SHUT UP XERA!" I yelled. I got up, looked around, and immediately darted towards the pond. I can still her yelling inside my brain, her voice ringing in my ears, but I ignored her. The pond, the pond, the water in there is cold. Maybe if I plunge my head into it, the shock will somehow 'kick her out of my brain'. It's a ridiculous idea, but maybe it'll actually work.

Stopping just before the water, I kneeled down. I could still hear Xera yelling at me to stop. " _Keith, what are you do –"_ Before she could say anymore, I plunged my head into the water, breaking the pond's surface. My face was instantly hit with cold and my ears filled up with water. That annoying tingle in my head stopped. I felt my connection with her break. 'I can't believe that worked...' I thought to myself, smiling victoriously. I had no doubt that Xera will try and contact me again, but I'm pretty sure it won't be anytime soon.

"What are you doing?" I heard Merlot ask behind me. I turned around to face him. He seemed quite concerned. "You're... not thinking of drowning yourself again, are you?"

"O-of course not!" I stated, grumbling, though in my head I thought: not in front of you, at least.

"Sure..." Merlot said, rolling his eyes.

I gave out a long sigh. I just told Xera that I won't be seeing them again for a _long_ time. I told her that I'll start over and build a new life.

I wonder...

...

"Hey, Merlot." I spoke up after a few minutes. "Do you think... I could leave yet?"

Merlot looked shocked by my question. "Leave? Wait, what do you mean?"

"I mean, leaving Bleak Cove." I repeated, pressing my tone to sound important. "Like, I was only _rescued_ by you guys and not _staying_ here, right? I still have a life outside, you know? So... am I allowed to leave yet?"

Merlot said nothing, but he glanced worryingly behind his shoulder at Canberra and Iwes, who were eating their breakfast. When he looked back at me, he seemed rather troubled. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here for a few more days? You sure you're healthy enough?" He asked, his voice sounding strained.

I stared at his large golden eyes, thinking. They're trying to keep me here, huh?

"Merlot, as much as I appreciate you three's hospitality, I'm sure you don't mind me leaving..." I paused, letting my words sink in. "...right?"

For a moment, Merlot's hovering shook. He smiled – nervously. "Well, I'll have to... ask Uxie and Mesprit, if you don't mind."

"Sure, go ahead." I smiled as well, sensing a small victory.

I tilted my neck upwards, looking up at the enourmous hole that allows sunlight into the cavern. The clouds appear a bit dark, and more wind than usual is flowing into the cove, so it's probably gonna rain, but not in a few hours. Hopefully Merlot doesn't use that flimsy excuse.

"They said you can go." Merlot suddenly said, appearing in front of me. "I'll lift you up now, okay?"

I stared at him, thinking something was suspiscious, but I didn't waste any time and let him pick me up and out of the cavern. I looked around, looking at the magnificent view of Lake Valor in the distance. That must be around about three kilometres from here. I pray that Xera won't be able to trace me back to Lake Valor, where I almost dronwed. Merlot carefully set me down on the grass. I laughed, strangely. Perhaps because I felt relieved to be outside. Or maybe I've gone insane.

"Thanks, Merlot." I said, smiling but not really smiling. "By the way, which way is Jubilife City?"

"Oh, um... Over there, opposite direction of Lake Valor." He answered, pointing. "It's east from here. Take care, okay?"

"Alright then."

Seeming pleased, Merlot headed back up the mountain and disappeared into the cove again. All alone now, I smirked to myself. Now I can finally start over. I'll go the _opposite_ direction from where the unknowing Azelf pointed to: towards Lake Valor, namely west. I began thinking of the things I should plan out and do once I'm far enough from Jubilife City as I started walking...

...

...

Meanwhile, in Bleak Cove, Merlot the Azelf stared solemnly into the lake. A throbbing pain tortured his heart and he felt a lump of guilt in his throat. But he did what he had to. He had to point Keith in the 'correct' direction.

' _Uxie said so herself,_ ' He thought to himself, remembering the conversation they had a few minutes earlier.

"So... Keith wants to leave?" Uxie said, thinking.

"Should we consent? I know that you're theorizing that he's –" Merlot started when she raised a hand to stop him.

"Do not worry. I think I know what he wants to do." Uxie replied, looking down at the grass, deep in thought. "After the trauma he's been through, it's likely that he's going to begin a new life, with a new identity no less."

Merlot's eyes widen. "Y-you're that sure?"

"It is my belief, and it's a ninety-percent chance as well. So, I want you to tell him this." Uxie gripped Merlot by the shoulder, making sure he was paying attention. "If he asks for direction, point the _incorrect_ direction to him. If you point east, he'll go west, which is towards Jubilife City. If he doesn't, simply tell him."

"But... why?"

Uxie smiled, though rather grimly. "In order to point him in the _right_ direction, we first must point him in the _wrong_ direction. Go on, Azelf; Keith is waiting."

Looking back now, he should've asked for a better reason for why she's sending Keith back to Jubilife, the place he despises. Is it because she thinks that whatever he'll face there will unlock his true potential? Or something else entirely?

Whatever the reason, it didn't matter. Merlot hated himself for it. He had read Keith's memories, saw and felt everything that happened to him during the incident, and spent the most time with him. Obeying Uxie felt like betraying Keith. His chest felt tighter now. "Forgive me, Keith..." Merlot whispered quietly, staring into the pond where he and Keith talked about his memories...

...

...

At the Legend Hunters' guild, Arthur waited outside the door. The aqua rabbit Pokémon was thinking hard. Xera had gone in there to get help from the other psychic Pokémon. She said that they could help give her a bit more power so she would be able to contact Keith through telepathy.

"It's been thirty minutes..." Arthur muttered to himself. "I wonder if she succeeded yet..."

Suddenly, he heard the click and sound of a door opening. He spun to his right, running up towards Xera, who just left the room. "W-well!? Did you reach him?" From the look on Xera's face, Arthur guessed that she had failed to contact Keith.

"I did, but..." The Espurr looked away, unable to say directly what she had to tell him. "He... he refused to come back."

"...What?" Arthur's heart sank. He feared for this moment. Each word Xera said next felt like a knife cut.

"He told me that he wanted to start over and begin a new life. Said that we probably won't be seeing him until a few more years." Xera turned to look at Arthur, her expression just as pained as his. "...I'm sorry Arthur."

Arthur laid his back against the wall and collapsed to the floor. He curled up like a ball and started to weep, almost child-like. Xera knew how much Keith meant for him, and she felt sorrry for him. She tapped his shoulder, speaking through telepathy again. "But... there might be a way to find him."

"R-really?" Arthur looked up at her, seeing her smiling a bit. He wiped his tears away and slowly got to his feet. "H-how?"

"If I do it repeatedly, I might be able to trace Keith to a certain extent." Xera said, heading back towards the door again. "I'll need serious help this time, because this is much harder than long-range telepathy. Don't worry Arthur, I'll find out where he is." Xera then entered the room, shutting the door behind her.

Arthur collapsed onto the floor again, breathing a sigh of joy. Clasping his hands together, he prayed. "Oh, Mew, please help me find Keith again..."


	13. Despair

The sun wasn't shining anymore. It was a cloudy day.

For days I trekked through the thick forests and grassy plains, passing numerous other Pokémon and dodging several eager trainers, but as time went on I continued to ask myself: why haven't I reached the shore yet?

Lake Valor was quite close to the shoreline, so it should have only taken two days. But now… it's been _five_ days and I still haven't caught a glimpse of the sea yet. At first, I thought the young Azelf pointed me to the wrong way, but that's just bizarre. How could Merlot, who had lived in Lake Valor for more than thirty years, get the directions wrong?

Yet…

"Maybe I'm getting slower…" I mumbled to myself, thinking that I was perhaps weaker than normal. "Although, this entire walk should have -" I stopped myself. Over the trees, I saw something. The snowy peak of a mountain. There shouldn't be any mountains where I'm heading.

Trepidation slowly squeezed my chest, followed by disbelief and shock. "It can't be!" I screamed, running forwards. No, no, no, it must be a lie, I thought, because if it's true then that means…!

Pushing my strength, I finally arrived in a small field. My eyes noticed a dirt track on my side, and the track slowly stretched out towards huge mountains in front of me. For a moment, I thought I stopped breathing. When the moment passed, I felt my heart plummet a hundred feet below me. "I-It's… Mount Coronet…"

Mount Coronet was a part of the familiar mountain range that divided the Sinnoh region. If you didn't know Mount Coronet, then you obviously aren't very knowledgeable at all about Sinnoh. But the mountain range is located in the center of the region, and if I came from Lake Valor then… "I've been travelling west…" A sudden feeling engulfed me - the feeling of rage, betrayal, agony… "Merlot lied to me?" I didn't know why, but I didn't care; whatever his reason, Merlot lied to me, and that is the absolute truth.

I was just about to turn around and march back to Bleak Cove to yell at him when my ears twitched. The revving and humming of an engine surprised me. Looking backwards, I saw a rover drive down the dirt track that leads to the mountains. I squinted a bit, trying to see who's driving. There's an Azumarill, a blonde-haired boy, a Leafeon, an Espurr, and some other people wearing jackets. Hang on, that set sounded familiar…

"No." I uttered, realising who it was. Arthur, Sam, Vivico, and Xera. Those other three men must be troops from the Legend Hunters. My suspicion was confirmed when I saw the logo on the side of the car. "Th-this can't be…" I refused to believe it, but Merlot's misdirection must be for this reason. He wanted to reunite me with my 'family' again.

"Whoa man, stop, you're gonna run into that Vulpix over there." One of the soldiers said to the driver. The driver, who looked half-asleep, jerked the steering wheel a bit, then stopping the rover roughly. The soldier nearly got thrown off. "HEY! Careful, bro!"

"K-KEITH!" My heart nearly stopped when I heard Arthur's voice. I watched as the water rabbit jumped off the vehicle and ran towards me. "Oh Arceus, Keith, I'm so glad you're safe!"

As I stared at him blankly, in my head only one word repeated: no. No no no no no no no nononononono. This can't possibly be happening. I wanted to be away from him, and everyone else! Not back together again! But even so, my paw moved unconsciously ahead, as if I was reaching out to him. My mind wasn't working, it had gone empty, and yet something inside me was reacting.

I suddenly fell backwards onto the ground, feeling the prickly grass against my back. I blinked, regaining my awareness. Arthur was on top of me, arms around me, tears dripping down his face. In his eyes I saw such joy that seemed to go beyond a height I never thought possible. "Oh, Keith, Keith…" He could only stutter, he couldn't say his words properly. I felt rather guilty now for not feeling as happy as him.

"Arthur…" Despite how distant I feel from him, I somehow managed to transfer my thoughts to him. "I… I know how you feel, but… I can't be with you anymore. Not in that stupid manor. I… You know how Sam feels about me."

"Keith, that doesn't matter!" He burst out, picking me up and putting me back on my paws. From over his shoulder, I see that the soldiers and Sam look really confused. "I-I-I just want you back! I _need_ you!"

Hearing his clingy voice… the desperation in it… I felt a weight pushing hard down on my stomach, making me despise myself. But I knew, deep down, that this is what's best, no matter what he says. "Arthur, why do you want me back?" I asked him softly, making sure the others don't hear me. "Why, why are you so… so in need of me!? How, why, and -"

"Because you are my friend!" Arthur yelled out, his hands waving upwards and downwards miserably. "Do you need a better reason than that!?"

I found his reason stupidly foolish, though I did not say it, because it would break his heart. Still… "I can't! I just simply can't! Can't you understand why!?" The scenario felt useless, it would be impossible to convince him to let me go, and here I am, trying to. "Just… leave. Me. Alone!"

I had said those words out with such force that it surprised everyone, including Sam. Arthur just stared at me, his face empty. Slowly, his face changed; from that wishful thinking to a deep despair. "I… I…" Arthur sobbed, wiping his tears. I looked away from him, unable to bear the sight in front of me. "I… I wish… I believe that you didn't kill Adam, and yes, it may be too late now, but I do believe you!"

"Arthur… Please…" Something was trying to emerge out of me, some strange thing, and I felt like I was gonna get possessed or the sort. It was as if my emotions were trying to take over me to scream out my truest feelings at Arthur. The feeling crept from my chest and began to spread over my body, which started to feel hot. "Being with you… I do want that… I do, from the bottom of my heart, I truly want that to happen, but thinking what might happen to you… because of my reputation…"

"It doesn't matter Keith." Arthur said, shaking his head. "W-we can get through it, right?"

"…"

"…Keith?"

"…"

Arthur started to get worried. "Keith, are you even listening to me?"

"IT JUST CAN'T BE THAT WAY!" The scream sounded almost beast-like, letting out an unforeseen amount of rage. Arthur's eyes shot wide open as if he witnessed a terrifying scene. "No matter how much I want to, I can't, I can't, I cannot be with you! Th-the entire source of my emotion comes from you! I care about you too much! I just want you to be safe. I want you to be happy! And it can be that way, _without me!_ " Taking in my breath, I prepared yourself to deliver the final words. "SO JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

It was so sudden: a bright white light suddenly engulfed me. Through the blinding rays I saw Arthur and the rest step back, astonished. I was just as surprised as them. What's more, I felt my body change. It was like back in Bleak Cove, where I thought my ears turned to water then reformed. It was happening again, but this time my entire body was experiencing it. I felt my ears get shorter, my legs get longer, my tails combining into one and elongating, my fur shortening…

When the light faded, I saw something completely unexpected.

My fur suddenly turned light pink. I was floating in the air, weightless. My legs were longer though my arms are slightly shorter. A long, pink tail waved in front of me, coming from my own body. I touched my face in a panic. My fur was very short, but that didn't matter, my head's shape felt different. My ears felt different too as I tried to flick them. "This shape…" I muttered in disbelief. "This form… It is…"

"A… Mew?" I heard Sam speak out. "The Vulpix… no, _my_ Vulpix… is a Mew!?" His hands quickly dove into his pockets, and he quickly took out a pokéball. "Vulpix, return!" He said. That regular laser shot at me, sending tingles down my body. I thought that I would be sucked in, but no, I remained outside. It didn't work. "Wh- huh?" Sam seemed surprised as well. "G-guys! Get him!"

The soldiers were a bit slow from staring in awe. "Y-yessir!" They took out their pokéballs from their pockets and sent out their Pokémon. I saw a Noivern, a Crobat, and a Wigglytuff. "Now, we will catch that Mew!" One of the soldiers cried with pride.

My brain wasn't functioning. What was happening? Arthur was on the grass, a look of bewilderment and amazement on his face. His mouth moved, but couldn't speak. "I… I'M SORRY!" I screamed, whipping around and zooming out of sight.

As I zipped through the forest, many thoughts entered my head. Why am I a Mew? How do I know how to fly? Why is this happening? But one, single thought remained clear, and I was completely focused on it. The fact that Merlot had tricked me. A rush soared through me, anger consumed what little consciousness I had left, and all I could think of was getting back to Bleak Cove to punch him and yell at him and punch him and-!

Before I knew it, a flash of light appeared in front of me and the entire scenery change. My surroundings were no longer that dense forest I was in earlier, but the top of an empty volcano. Through the large hole, I saw lush greenery in the cavity. 'Bleak Cove', I thought, recognising the place immediately. How did I get here so fast? But as soon as I saw a blue figure down below, the question vanished from my head. Using all my weight, I zipped down there as fast as I could.

I could hear the air rushing past me as I dove down, just above the ground, my feet grazing the grass below, and I thrusted both my arms forward. The young Azelf didn't even see what was coming until it was too late. The next second, he was in the air, his neck in my grasp as I choked him. His eyes widened at the sight of me, although he probably didn't realise I was the Mew. "Wh-what the heck…!?" He gasped, confusion and panic in his voice.

From my peripheral vision, I saw Canberra the Mesprit and Iwes the Uxie appear as well. Canberra seemed stunned, however Iwes was smiling. I hated that smug know-it-all grin, but I wanted to deal with Merlot first. "Y-you lied to me, Merlot!" I yelled at him. "This was all part of you guys' plans, wasn't it!?"

"Wait… _K-Keith_!?" He wheezed, trying to kick me, but I evaded it. "K-Keith… Let me go! I-I can explain!"

"What is there to explain!" I said, squeezing his neck tighter. His face became a bit of blue and purple. "You wanted to reunite me with Sam and Arthur!"

"I-It was Uxie's idea!"

I let my grip on him go. He fell to the ground, coughing and breathing hard. Afraid, he quickly spoke up again. "I… I was only following Uxie's orders…" He told me through bated breath. "Sh-she said… the emotional feelings or whatnot would… awaken y-your true power…"

I glared at Iwes, who did not seem to care. "It had to be done," She said calmly, completely unfazed. "We analysed your aura… it was so strikingly similar to the previous Mew - I instantly knew who you really were."

"Y-you can't possibly…" Just like Merlot, I sunk to the ground, holding my chest tightly. I could feel it rise and fall and the fast-paced heartbeat from within. "How… why would you do this to me… You betrayed me!"

Canberra decided to intervene. "Enough you guys. What matters is now we know that Keith is the new Mew. We're gonna have to set up and do a lot of things."

"What kinds of things?" I asked her.

"Proper training, some education, basic stuff like that." She replied. "You've just discovered this massive potential today of course. We need you to learn how to control it."

I suddenly got dizzy. _They're gonna use me. Train me, teach me, control me… manipulate me? Why me? Why am I a Mew?_ I felt huge pressure weigh down on me, crushing my willpower. _I don't want to, I don't wanna! How did this suddenly become so complicated?_

"N-no…" I whispered softly. "I won't follow you." For some reason, the clouds above finally gave way to rain. It somehow matched the atmosphere in here.

"Keith, it's dangerous." Iwes consoled me, though there was no sympathy in her voice. "This power you have, it needs a proper wielder, and you are -"

"I've had enough!" I burst out, standing up and balling my fists. "Why must there be so much drama in my life!? Why must I go through this!? Why am I a fuckin' Mew!?" In just a few sentences I let out all the anger and resentment I had in me, and more kept pouring out. "Why!? Why!? WHY!?" The rain poured down harder and harder with every yell I cried.

"K-Keith, please, calm down!" Merlot told me, struggling to stand up. "This is for your-"

"My own good, huh!?" I cut him off, knowing what he was about to say. "You don't know what I want, you don't know what'll cure me of this pain! I'm sick of all this! SO ALL OF YOU, JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Another blinding white light consumed me, and I disappeared from that place.

Instead, I was somewhere cold, very cold. Despite how I only teleported here seconds ago, my entire body became freezing cold. I shivered, rubbing my shoulders in an attempt to get warmer. "Brr… Wh-where am I…?" My body still felt slightly hot from letting out a tantrum back at the cove… it was real then… I'm not hallucinating or dreaming.

The area was snowy and quite high up from sea level. Visibility was a bit low though. I sighed, a puff of smoke coming out of my mouth. "What is this place?" I asked myself again. "Am I on top of a mountain?" That seemed to be the case. When I looked up, I saw the peak that stretched up on and on until the very tip. I squinted. I thought I saw something… or someone.

A shadow.

It was just for a moment, but I thought I saw the shadow of someone up there. _I need to get up there_.

I was still in this Mew body, so I wasn't too used to it. I'm normally quadruped. I tried levitating just now, but I can't. I haven't gotten control of my power yet. "Whatever." I groaned, grabbing onto firm snowy ground here and there. It was hard, but after a while, I made it.

There, I saw the true identity of the figure I saw. The body and shape of the figure made it clear what Pokémon it was.

"A Jirachi?" I murmured to myself.

The Jirachi was staring off into the distance, only clouds and endless sky ahead of him. His tags swayed around in the wind like flags. Beside him, I noticed something intriguing. It looked like some sort of grave; it was a roughly carved stone slab, as if an amateur had done it, with etches carved onto the surface. I was too far away too see the writing clearly. _Maybe I should call him or her_ , I thought. "Hello?"

The Jirachi quickly spun around. The two of us made eye contact. The wish Pokémon had beautiful turquoise eyes, shining in the sunlight. He stared at me, confused. He chuckled a bit, and in a voice that clearly sounded male he said: "I must be hallucinating." He rubbed his eyes and looked up at me once more. He looked shocked to see that I was still here. "Huh?" He pinched himself, and even slapped himself. "Ow, ow! …Wait, what?"

The strange reality that I was still here seemed to pique his curiosity. He stepped forward, but cautiously. He stepped forward a few times. Thinking that this might be not a very good idea, I stepped back. He gave a small gasp when he saw that. In a quick, swift movement, he rushed forward and grabbed me by my right paw. "G-gah!" I yelled, surprised.

"U-uwah!" The Jirachi yelled as well, though he didn't let go as well. He stared at me, looking deep into my eyes, as though searching for confirmation that I was not a figment of his imagination. His thumb ran over my thin fur, feeling it. "I-It can't be…" He whispered. And then, the most surprising thing happened: He hugged me.

"Hey, what in the-"

"Oh, thank Arceus, thank Mew!" He said in a joyous, celebrating voice. "The new Mew has finally shown himself!"

There it was again, the new Mew business. But different from Merlot and the others, I felt something different from this Jirachi. Some sort of… warmth, was emanating from him. I was positive that it wasn't because he hugged me. This strange, calm warmth… it was like a feeling of being welcomed, an extending hand, enveloping me in a warm, fuzzy embrace. It reminded me… of being hugged by Arthur. But instead of despair, this time I felt a sensation of being cared for, like how it used to be. A happy, but mournful nostalgia.

For this vague reason, my arms slowly wrapped around the Jirachi's back, hugging him back. I could hear him hold tears in my embrace. He must be very happy that I'm here then.

"F-forgive me, I a-apologize," He finally sobbed, letting go of me and stepping back a little. He wiped tears off his face with that long sleeve that's actually part of his arm. "I couldn't control myself…" He added, apologizing again with a bow.

"It's fine." I said nonchalantly. I was rather surprised at myself for forgiving him so easily. Was it because I felt comfortable with him?

"Could you tell me your name?" He asked.

"It's… It's Keith." I replied, though hesitantly.

"Keith…" He repeated, thinking. "I like that name. Just call me Jirachi."

"You don't have a name?"

He winced a little. "I do, but…" His head turned slightly to look back at the gravestone planted in the snow. I nodded, understanding. I remembered Merlot telling me that Mew was the one who gave him and the two others names. It might have been the same for this Jirachi.

"Is that the previous Mew's grave?" I asked him.

His head turned back at me. "Y-yes…" He nodded. "How'd you know?" I told him what Merlot told me a week ago. "I see… so you've met the Lake Trio already. Hm, well I guess they are Sinnoh's guardians…"

He stood silently for a few moments, looking - no, observing - me. "You have her eyes, you know?" He suddenly said. "Delphi also had those sea blue eyes like yours."

"So her name was Delphi?" I asked, looking at the grave behind him. Looking closely, I could see that the etches do form the name 'Delphi'. I saw pain in his eyes as he said that. For some reason, I think he might be afraid that he would ask me what happened to her. Fortunately, I had known already. "You don't need to tell me how she died." I comforted him. "Merlot explained it to me back then."

The Jirachi's mouth crooked into a feeble smile. "Anyway… Mind I ask what you're doing here on Mount Coronet? I told him about the clever Uxie's plan, the meeting with my trainer and the others, my sudden teleportation to Bleak Cove, my rant, and how I magically appeared here. "So your rage and feelings accidentally teleported you, is that right?" I nodded. "Mew once told me that novice psychic-types can accidentally unleash their power when not in the proper mind. I guess that's what happened with you."

A thought came back to me: what do I do now? I have now become the Legend Hunters's ultimate goal, I left everyone utterly baffled or miserable, and I'm a Mew. _What's going to happen to my life now?_ I suddenly felt alone, all alone. The air seemed to be getting colder as I clenched my chest, breathing heavily. Jirachi appeared rather worried.

"You've been through a lot." He said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You need to relax for a few days." I looked at him, feeling reassured. Despite me and him are total strangers to one another, we somehow found a link that ties us together. "Come with me." He continued. "I know someplace where we'll be isolated for a while."

"Where exactly is this someplace?"

"Someplace you can rest and think things through." He spoke in a soft, comforting voice as he wrapped an arm around my neck.

"…Alright then. Take me there." And with that, he teleported the two of us away.


	14. Consulting About A Wish

The flash of the teleportation blinded me for a second before I could see clearly again. When I did, I was amazed by what I was looking at. "Oh my Arceus." I whispered, gawking.

We were outside a massive building, built out of wooden birch planks and white walls. There was a modern touch to its design. From outside you can see the comfortable-looking furniture through the massive terrace windows. A crooked sign hung above the front glass sliding door, which said 'Coronet Snow Inn'.

I didn't even know a place like this was here. It looked so grand, so large, so well-furnished and tidy, but so -

"What do you think?" Jirachi suddenly asked me, snapping me from my thoughts. He beamed a warm smile. "Pretty amazing, huh?" He made a motion with his hands, beckoning me to walk with him. I followed him so.

"What is this place?" I asked, feeling my paws stepping into thick snow as we approached the building.

"It's an abandoned ski resort." Jirachi explained. "They built this place about two years ago. It was fancy and had all sort of facilities. Sadly, the management was quite poor and they didn't advertise much, so they had to close it down. Not many people know about the place back then, so this land is still untouched by any businessmen."

The sliding door opened when Jirachi got close to it. I went inside as well, taking in the room I was in. It seemed to be the reception and lounge area. There were lovely leather couches grouped together around several tables. There was also a fireplace, which is currently not burning. There were reception desks, lamp stands, event boards, soft carpets; practically everything you'd expect at a snow resort. "I'm surprised this place wasn't popular." I commented. It seemed that they had hired a very poor manager for the job.

"It's a shame, really," Jirachi agreed, settling on a wooden stool. "But now you have your time."

I turned to look at him. "What do you want me to do?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know. My main priority is you right now. And you look tired. Go take a nap, a hot bath maybe, or just read books at the library."

I thought about it. I really wanted to talk to Jirachi right now. My mind's a blur. I have so many confusing thought buzzing around in my head. But I think I should follow his advice and have a bit of sleep, _then_ I can consult him. "Well… Is there a room around here?"

"There's a decent one down the hallway in the far left corner." He answered, pointing at a corridor. "Room 106 I believe. Or the one beside it."

"Thanks." I said, waving a paw gratefully. He only smiled as he watched me enter the hallway and disappeared out of view.

The hallway was dark and dusty, making my throat slightly sore. I ignored it; I shouldn't think right now. It didn't take long for me to find the room Jirachi said. I pushed the door, testing if it was locked. The old door slowly creaked open. I entered the room, and much to my surprise, it actually looked quite nice.

It looked like any other hotel room. There was this gorgeous velvet bed with soft light blue sheets, which I immediately took a liking upon when I got on it. There was a desk set, wardrobe, coffee table, TV (which had no power), and a nice shower.

But perhaps the thing that caught my eye the most was a small circular mirror with a silver frame standing on the wooden desk.

I walked over to it, looking at my reflection in the mirror. Barely a speck of dust on that mirror, which made my reflection shine. I've always been curious about my reflection. With everything that's happened, maybe my reflection has obtained a self-conscious mind? It _has_ reacted a little every time I see my it. "Are you alive?" I asked. It was a silly question in hindsight. Of course not. My reflection can't even be called an 'object'.

Much to my dismay, it didn't respond. Although I thought it blinked once or twice in front of me. So I decided to start a conversation with myself.

"Here I am, I guess… I'm a Mew now, I can float around, and everything's crashing down. What should I do?"

"You should get some sleep, dumbass."

"Yeah, I know that. I mean, after that, what?"

"Jirachi will explain everything. He understands us."

"I want to believe that. What about Arthur?"

"And you said you didn't care about him."

"I-" I paused, unable to respond to a comment I created in my own head. It appears that, deep down, I still care for the poor Azumarill. I can only imagine how he's doing right now. Sam's proabably tearing the hair outta his head, and all Arthur can do is stand idly by and discuss with the others. Xera hasn't contacted me again, and hopefully she won't. The others? I have no idea how'd they react, but Blanch the ass of a Buizel would probably call bullshit.

I sighed, frustrated. I flopped back onto the bed, got under the sheets, and curled up. It was difficult not to think, so I kept whispering to myself some sort of lullaby. Not like it made me calm, but it sounded like a prayer to a despairing me.

At last, I slept.

…

…

…

I groggily woke up from my long nap. I stretched my paws and hind legs, getting a pop out of them. Ah, that felt good…

I looked outside the large window of my room. It was evening, the sun just minutes away from disappearing as stars begin to appear. Clouds gather in the sky, a dull grey colour. It might storm later tonight.

Even though my head was kinda fuzzy, I remembered one very important thing: talking to Jirachi. Hopping off my bed, I started walking towards the door when I realized that it was quite awkward to walk on two hind legs. I wished I was still a four-legged Vulpix. Maybe I should practice flying.

Kirlia once told me that when psychics, do things, it's all in their head. Or mind, to be more precise. Imagination, a paraphrase she would use to simplify it to me. I closed my eyes, thinking of flying. I imagined it: the feeling of weightlessness, the freedom, mass vanishing and replaced with lightness, beyond the laws of gravity. Free. I was imagining it so well that I actually feel like I'm off the ground.

Wait…

I opened my eyes, immediately looking down. A flutter passed through me when I saw my feet weren't touching the ground. I panicked, but only for a second, before I remembered to keep thinking. Flying, weightless, and free to move. Kirlia said that after you've gotten into the right mindset, you only need to focus. She told me once you do it, you'll continue to do it, until you tell your brain to stop.

I remained floating on the spot for a few minutes, wanting to see if I can do it. Several times I plummeted down because of a bit of carelessness. It's fine though, it's like riding a bike. Takes time before you find balance when you first take off the training wheels.

After a while, I thought I should try moving around. It was… very difficult. It was like swimming, but in the air. And you can't really push against air like water. It was more like, guiding your body where you want to go. Your mind is your controller. I flew around the room a bit carefully, almost crashing into the bed. "Oops! Maybe I should stop…"

I needed to see Jirachi, so I went out the door and looked for him. It didn't take me long to find him; he was outside near the snowy garden, gazing up at the sky. I silently approached him, hovering. "…Jirachi?" I called out to him in a low voice.

"Yes?" He turned around to me, his eyes widening as he did so. He stared at me, sizing me up. "…You can already fly?" He asked, amazed.

I nodded, smiling shyly. "Back when I was with my, er, team, one of them was a psychic-type, and she explained to me that the number one thing about using psychic powers is your -"

"Imagination." Jirachi completed the statement for me. "I'm glad for you."

He started walking around the garden with me following him. The garden was buried in snow, but that was how it was meant to look like. Fake trees stood up on the garden, their also fake leaves covered in snow. Stone lanterns were scattered across the garden, so were some benches. There were also sculptures that adorned the park's surroundings, either carved out of wood or ice. The centrepiece of the place was however a small waterfall that flowed into a river, complete with a bridge built over it. The water was steaming like a hot tub. No idea how it's still running.

"Did you get some good sleep?" Jirachi asked me as we stepped onto the bridge.

"Somewhat."

"Anyway…" He stopped walking. I stopped walking too. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions. Since we have time, you're free to ask me anything."

I looked deep into the Jirachi's turquoise eyes. Eager, willing to help, kindness… He reminds me of -

No. Not now. Focus on the problem.

"I wanna ask you about why I'm a Mew." I said to him.

He seemed confused by the question. "What do you mean by that?" He asked. "Haven't you always been a Mew?"

"Right. I should tell you…" I clarified everything for him. A simple and short story summing up my life from the day I was born till now, although it did take a good ten minutes in order to not miss out important details.

"I see…" Jirachi nodded. "You were born a Vulpix?"

"Yes." I looked down at my body, lifting my paws up in front of me. It feels so strange to be no longer a Vulpix… A Mew is so much different, plus all the power that I probably don't realize I have is within arm's reach now. Maybe flying, telepathy, psychic superpowers; anything would be possible. I haven't tried transforming back into a Vulpix yet, but I'll save it for later. I want answers fist.

"Um… this is just a theory," Jirachi said after a good five minutes of thought. "perhaps you transformed _while_ you were in your egg."

"I-Is that possible?"

"I don't know for certain, but it is most likely. Maybe those Vulpixes were never your real parents. Maybe they just found your egg and took your in."

"Then… who are my parents?" I asked him, curious and afraid to know. Are they still out there, perhaps? Or…

"I… doubt you even have parents." Jirachi replied somberly. "Or any relatives."

I stared at him in disbelief. "Hang on. If I had no mother or father, how was I born?"

"Let me explain to you," he began, sitting down on the bridge. I sat down as well. "You see, most legendaries are genderless. Therefore, we normally don't have any descendants, except a select few. You ask, who are your parents; I say they don't exist. There's a thing called 'spontaneous birth'."

"The easiest example would be the first Arceus, who created the universe. In the legends they say Arceus hatched out of its egg. Now, where did the egg come from? That is what spontaneous birth means. It only happens to mythical and legendaries who don't have genders."

I nodded quietly, understanding what he meant. "But… is it possible that…" I coughed, but more as a sign of excusing myself. "I don't mean to be offending the dead, but is it possible that Mew had an affair? Mews can transform, right? Their transformations should have genders."

"Not that I know off." I was glad that Jirachi took the question normally. It would've ended badly if he took it personally. "If she did have someone, she would tell me. Especially if it was about a _child_. She's not the secretive type."

For just a moment, I felt a tingle in my throat. Some sort of… resonating emotion.

 _What is this?_ I could suddenly see an aura around Jirachi. It was wavy, blurry, and multi-coloured. Words spoke in my head: _love, grief, sadness, anger._ Is the aura representing his emotions? There was a pink colour, probably love, grief marked with grey, sadness with blue and anger with red. Grief seems to be dominating the aura.

A light, airy voice whispered in my ear: _talk to him._ I don't know why, but I obeyed.

"Jirachi, did you… like Mew?" I asked.

Jirachi looked stunned for a moment before returning to calm. "Wh-what makes you say that?" He seemed a bit accused by the question.

The pink colour was beginning to grow. It must be some sort of subconscious reaction in his feelings.

"I just… got that impression from you…" I didn't want to tell him about the aura. Yet.

Jirachi rubbed his hands together nervously. He doesn't want to answer my question, so I tried to push him a little.

"Then… could you at least tell me what she was like? The previous Mew?" Jirachi looked up at me. "I'm a Mew now, and if I have to help others like her… I want her as a sort of role model for me. C-could you tell me about how she behaved or something…?"

The Jirachi's eyes lit up and I could tell he was rather happy to be asked the question. "Sure! But, oh, where do I start… She's so kind and she's done so many wonderful things that I can't choose any particular event!" His face began to blush a little. I don't think he realizes it. "She always flies or teleports from region to region, helping anyone she can find, be it Pokémon or trainer. She would save them from dangerous situations, give them food and water, and offer valuable advice. Sometimes she would let ambitious but pure-hearted trainers catch a glimpse of her, which gave them hope. She's done practically everything a nice person can do."

"Wow…" I said, actually impressed, feeling a little overwhelmed by the size of the role I'd need to fill. "I don't know if I can do those things…"

"I'm sure you can." Jirachi encouraged me.

"No, I mean… It's just…" I sighed heavily. "I _cannot_ bring myself to help other people. It's just not in my nature. My blood." I looked away from him, feeling disappointed in myself. "I can't be who my predecessor was…"

Jirachi didn't say anything. Neither did I. I let my long, pink feet dangle of the bridge, the tips of my toes touching the warm water. Water always felt nice to me, despite being a fire-type. Well, I'm not a fire-type _right now_ , but I always found it comfortable; that liquid washing over your fur, providing a sense of indescribable pleasure.

"You don't have to help people like her," Jirachi finally said. "But if you don't, what are you planning to do?"

The answer to that question was one I don't know. What am I going to do with my life? I'm a Mew now. A huge responsibility suddenly dropped upon me from the heavens, now crushing me and whatever heart I have left. There is nothing to live for. I don't have anything or anyone that meant to Mew. There would be no point in helping other people. I started to think that maybe I should kill myself right here and now.

"She was always so nice to me…" Jirachi quietly whispered. It sounded more like to himself than to me. I turned to look at him. He solemnly stared at his reflection in the small pool of steaming water. "She had always been nice to me. We hanged out a lot. I took her stargazing at Mount Coronet. She took me to the fields to have fun. We played, danced, laughed, and pretty much inseparable."

"But after that day, when she got shot by that arrow… We stopped doing that. We _couldn't_ do that. She was so ill that all she could do was lay in bed. I sat beside her the whole time. I told her it would be okay, but she just smiled and said: I told you a year ago it would happen. She had predicted her own death last year. No one believed her." He shook his head sadly. "We were gravely wrong."

A bubble seemed to surface from the depth of Jirachi's mind. I could see it coming out, enlarging, revealing an image. People were moving around in there. I quickly realized that I was looking at Jirachi's memories. I stared into the vision, paying attention to his story as well. But he had stopped talking, wiping a tear from his eye, yet the vision kept playing.

I could hear Jirachi's voice and who I presume to be Mew's. I saw the two of them. Jirachi was sitting on a stool beside her, while Mew rested on a purple bed. It seemed to be some old house. An oil lamp was the only light source in the room. A grandfather clock showed the time to be 11.46. For some reason, I had a feeling it was nighttime.

"Mew, please, it's not your time yet…" Jirachi stammered in a miserable, distant voice.

"Jirachi, there's nothing you can do…" Mew said in a low voice. "All of you have tried everything for me. Nothing succeeded."

"Mew, you just have to believe. I need you to hang on…!" Jirachi's voice cracked as he began crying. "I c-can't lose you… You're… too precious to m-me…"

Mew raised her arm, caressing the Wish Pokémon's face. "It's okay, Lyra. It'll be okay."

"H-how can this be okay!? I-I-I still have something I want to say to you!" His voice was strained with emotion, unable to bear the painful moment. Literally, any moment now, she could just pass away.

"Then now would be a good time to say it," Mew chuckled. "I have something I want to say to you too."

Jirachi coughed and choked back his tears. "I-I… I don't know how it started, and I don't know when it happened… but for a long time, I've… I've always… _liked you…_ " Mew's eyes widened a little. "Y-you make me happy and comfortable every single day, and we're like a pair now, and yet… Wh-why must this happen…"

Mew stayed silent for a minute, letting Jirachi cry for a while. "Jirachi - no, Lyra… I actually like you too…"

Jirachi raised his head and stared at the pink feline on the bed. "Y-you do…?" His voice seemed to be filled with disbelief. "I… I always thought…"

"Same with me, Lyra." Mew smiled. "I guess it was the one thing we kept to ourselves till the last moment."

The duo stared silently at each other. Then, by some reflex, they leaned over and their lips connected. It would be their first and last exchange in the realm of love.

"It pains me to end my relationship with you, Lyra…" Despite that, she smiled. "But promise me you will _never_ forget this moment. Because -"

"I know, Delphi," Jirachi answered, calling her by the name he gave her. It'll probably be the last time he'll say that name, making his heart ache as he said it. "I know. And I'm so sad that it has to be this way, and I wish -"

Mew closed his partner's mouth gently, signalling him to stop talking. "Lyra. It's 11.59. I have one minute. You can either leave if you don't want to… see…. Or you can stay here with me until my last second." The fact Jirachi didn't budge from his chair for ten seconds gave Mew her answer. "I understand then." The two reached out to each other and held each other's hand. "Until the end, Lyra…"

Jirachi smiled, silently letting his tears slide down his face, dripping onto his arm onto Mew's arm. He looked at the clock. Thirty seconds. Twenty seconds. He looked back at Mew. He could see her winking playfully at him before closing her eyes and breathed heavily. Ten seconds. Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one -

The clock struck twelve at midnight. Jirachi knew what it meant. The loud gong noises echoed through the room as he continued holding Mew's arm. Twelve gongs, of course.

He looked back at Mew. Her eyes were closed. Her chest wasn't rising. He couldn't feel her pulse and the paw he held was limp. Jirachi tightened his grip, sobbing. He got off his stool and approached her body, laying his other hand on her chest. "If only we told each other sooner…" He muttered in a despondent voice. "I would have made you the happiest Pokémon on the planet… It wasn't supposed to end like this…"

The vision then slowly faded into nothing, and I was back in the real world again. I was staring at Jirachi, feeling pity for him. He lost his loved one. He's suffered more than me.

"I know you have nothing left." Jirachi spoke up again, turning his body to face me. "I know that you've lost everything. I know that you have nothing more to cherish. And I know what you most desire. So please," He placed both his hands on mine. "let _me_ be the one thing you care about. And just like her, I'll care for you, and make sure that you're happy."

I stared at the Jirachi, not knowing what to say. Had he expected me to see that memory? Or was that a coincidence?

"Keith, please…" Jirachi said, squeezing my paws. "I'm not losing another Mew. I'll grant you a wish, _any_ wish; but please don't give up!"

"J-Jirachi, I…" I didn't know what answer I should give. I thought about that memory earlier. It doesn't feel like the right time to ask that. I knew how he felt for her and I'm sure that's how he feels for me - in a non-romantic way. I have nothing left to care. Jirachi is offering himself plus his one wish. So, there we were, two Pokémon with nothing left but a last-ditch effort to find condolence in each other's company. Both desperate for meaning in their lives, a reason to live.

Maybe… I still have something to live for…

"What kind of wish can you give me?" I ask.

"Any wish." He replied, though a bit hesitantly. Obviously, it was a lie. You'd know from movies or cartoons that bringing the dead back to life, wanting love, or do harm to someone were wishes that weren't allowed to be granted or they don't have the power. However, I already made up my mind. I just hope it's something he can do.

"Then… I wish there was someone I could care for… Not Arthur, because I want some distance from him for now; nor anyone else from my past… I wish for someone new, not just you. I want someone who can teach me how to be a proper living being - to be… normal." That was my wish. I wanted rehabilitation. I wanted to be normal, even if I'm a Mew. For Arthur's sake and everyone else's.

Jirachi bit his lip, uncertain. I waited a few minutes for a response, however he said nothing. A subconscious, amused smile formed on my face. I knew it, it was beyond his power. Well, I suppose that is to be expected, I had a backup wish anyway -

"Wait here!" Jirachi suddenly exclaimed, beaming. The next thing I knew is that he disappeared in a flash of light.

I stupidly stared at the place where Jirachi disappeared. "What… just happened?" I said in disbelief. Is it true? Can he _actually_ grant that wish. A warm feeling spread across my chest. I was in doubt, zero confidence that it would work, but now… I think there might be hope for me.

In the meantime, I walked around the park, observing my new 'residence', I guess. I walked over to the pond, putting my face as close as possible to the water without my snout touching it. I could feel the warm vapour tickle my face as I watched my reflection. I was so close that every breath I exhaled made the water ripple.

Lost in thought, I dunk my head in.

Water swallowed my head, filling my ears and nose. There was only the faint sound of the waterfall rushing in the distance. The water felt a bit hot, but just the right temperature for a nice bath. I opened my eyes, hoping to see what's under. The water was amazingly clear: I could see the details on the rocks and plastic fishes swimming around in the swirling current.

Actually, how can I even see?

It must be the power.

After what felt like a good five minutes in there, I pulled my head out, breathing fresh, cold air again. Water had always felt comfortable to me.

When I turned my head back, I saw Jirachi standing there, looking worried. "Are… you okay?" He asked timidly.

"U-uh… I'm fine. It's just… I know I used to be a fire-type, but I like water. I told you that, didn't it?"

"I believe you did." Jirachi said, scratching his chin. "Now… about the wish. I can do it. But… do you really wanna meet your new buddy like that?"

I realized what he meant. I look like a Mew right now. It would be very awkward for both sides, and the term 'normal' would disintegrate into nothing. "Do you think you are able to transform? He asked.

I closed my eyes, focusing, just as I did with levitating. I imagine my body melt, slowly turning into a glob, molecules disconnecting. I tried as hard as I can to imagine my own body, a cool liquid now, reforming back into a Vulpix once more. I could feel tingles all over my body. I imagined; my pointed ears, the six furry tails, my brown coat of fur, the longer snout and legs…

When the tingling stopped, I opened my eyes again. Jirachi was staring at me, his mouth agape. Looking at myself, I did too.

I was back as a Vulpix again, perfect in every detail.

"I-incredible…" Jirachi gasped. He looked like he might even cry. "You can already transform back…"

"…Anyway, Jirachi." I cut in, hoping to stop him from tearing up again. "About the wish…"

"Ah, yes. Come here."

After I walked up in front of him, he placed both his hands on my forehead. A greenish glow started to emanate. "It won't hurt." Jirachi assured me, seeing me wince. A sharp tingle, almost like a string, coarse down from my head down to my spine and back up again. Jirachi then let go of his hands. "Okay, done!"

I blinked in confusion. "What happened? Nothing changed!"

But when I turned to my right…

I saw something that make me take back those words.


End file.
